


Warden of the Angels

by Galacticspace97



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion, SCP Foundation
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Angst, Complete, Crossover, Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mystery, Post-Canon, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Some Romance, every angel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 135,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23208943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galacticspace97/pseuds/Galacticspace97
Summary: The SCP Foundation has been humanity's aegis against the anomalous for hundreds of years. On numerous occasions the tenacity, ingenuity, and foresight of the Foundation has prevailed against truly apocalyptic forces. So when a deactivated cyborg superweapon is found drifting through space, the Foundation contains it like anything else. However this entity soon reveals more secrets than even the SCP foundation is prepared for. Imprisoned in a world he does not recognize and facing a resurgent angelic incursion, the pilot of Evangelion unit 01 must help an SCP Foundation researcher to unravel the mystery of this world before the angels claim their final victory. The secrets they reveal will shake the very bedrock of reality.
Relationships: Ikari Shinji/Nagisa Kaworu
Comments: 24
Kudos: 127





	1. A rude awakening

Description: SCP 6079 is a 75 meter tall, humanoid, cybernetic organism, originally found in orbit beyond the moon. Although the organic components of SCP 6079 are human on a genetic level; the entity possesses anatomy not present on baseline humans, most notable of which is a spherical red organ located in the upper abdominal region. The most notable mechanical augmentations to SCP 6079 are a mechanism grafted into its neck and shoulders, an external battery system that powers the biological function of SCP 6079 through unknown means, and an outer layer of armor plating. SCP 6079 is currently in a state of suspended animation….

Site director Tallerin rubbed the bridge of her nose, squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to suppress her annoyance. There were protocols in place for this; a junior researcher working on a euclid class anomaly shouldn't be pestering her with every tiny minuta...

“Director, m’am-”   
An anticipating voice shook Tallerin from her idigation. “Yes?” she cocked an eyebrow at the researcher standing in front of her. The scientist couldn't have been more than 30; her eyes still had the vibrant scarlet of youth, unlike Tallerin’s own which had faded to a dull maroon many years ago.

“The thing I came to you for,” she presented another sheet of paper. 

Groaning, Tallerin snatched it out of the junior researcher’s hands.  
“Next time, cut to the chase,” Tallerin muttered. “I don’t have all day.”

Looking down at the new paper, the Site Director read the addendum to the SCP file that she had been presented earlier.

At 09:45 hours on July 18th, an energy surge was detected from within SCP 6079. Following this the mechanism on the spine of the entity opened and partially ejected a long, cylindrical capsule. Scans showed this capsule to contain a humanoid entity suspended in an organic solution. The current hypothesis is that SCP 6079 is not able to act autonomously and requires an operator or pilot. Entity within the cylindrical object is pending classification to SCP 6079-1.

“So you want my approval for your team to open this capsule?” Tallerin asked.  
“Yes ma'am,” The junior researcher replied.  
“What’s the security on the project like?” Tallerin probed.  
“We have two site task forces on standby,” the younger woman replied. 

Tallerin dropped the paper on her desk. There was nothing in the scans to indicate that either entity was going to perish, but if her inaction let a potentially valuable asset die, Overwatch command would not have good things in store for her. Was there a risk to releasing an unknown SCP? Yes, but from her position the risk of inaction was larger.

Tallerin picked up a nearby pen and scrawled a signature on the bottom of the paper. Turning to her left, she popped open her laptop and pressed her thumb into a fingerprint scanner. A few seconds later she looked back to the eager scientist. 

“My official approval of this operation has been sent, proceed with caution.” she sternly warned.  
“Thank you!” The researcher nearly jumped. “I promise this wasn’t a waste of your time” she shouted as she nearly ran out of the office.  
“Yeah, go through the proper channels next time” Tallerin called back, but the researcher had already disappeared around a corner with a blur of blue hair.

…………….

Researcher Heian tapped her foot as the elevator descended; illumination and darkness alternated on her face as the floors slowly counted down. This was her first assignment as research head and she was eager to get some real progress to report. Although some of her more senior colleagues had over a dozen separate SCP’s under their direct supervision, she felt very privileged to be working on this one specifically. In fact, it seemed that a great deal of the personnel found something immutably attractive about this particular object…

The elevator dinged and the steel cage shuttered open. Heian straightened her tier underneath her lab coat and stepped onto the marked path and strolled forwards. Coming to a large blast door, she swiped a yellow card. The metal shuddered and drew open, revealing a bustling control room. From where Heian stood, the central path became a short set of stairs descending to a large glass window. Every few meters there was landing, extending into a path on either side of the stairs which was lined with rows of computer terminals and desks. Heian’s eyes traveled down to the windows where a guard was shouting something at a trembling figure in a lab coat. A black beret hung off to the side of the guard’s head, the Foundation logo emblazoned on it in white thread. Heian recognized the voice and swiftly walked down the stairs.

“AND YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS A VALID REASON TO BREACH SECURITY PROTOCOLS?!” The soldier howled. 

“S-so-sorry ma'am!” the younger figure apologized. Heian could see the large green badge of research assistant dangling off of their lab coat. 

“IF I CATCH YOU TRYING TO MAKE CONTACT WITH AN ANOMALY WITHOUT CLEARANCE AGAIN, I-”

“Go easy on the kid Brigetson,” Heian interrupted as she placed a hand on the guard’s back.   
“I just got clearance from the Director, we’re green to open it up.”

Brigetson's face was still contorted into a visible scowl underneath her dark shades, but after a moment her eyebrows relaxed and she turned to the still terrified assistant.

“You’re dismissed!” she waved. Sending the girl running up the stairs. 

“What’d she try?” Heian asked as she watched the assistant flee. 

“Bastard tried to make contact with the big red ball. Said there was enough ‘genetic compatibility’ whatever that means.” Brigetson replied.

Heian put her chin on her fist. Was this some sort of memetic contamination? Was it even a good idea to try to retrieve whatever was inside that tube? For all she knew it was a reality bender of incredible power, or an cognitohazardrous creature that would liquify the brains of the whole site as soon as they cracked the seal.

“Well since you got approval, I guess we can move forwards with this.” Brigetson said.  
“How were you thinking of doing this?”

Heian looked up again, her doubts quickly forgotten. On the other side of the glass was a massive hanger; the immense frame of SCP 6079 lying still at its center. The cylindrical plug had been removed completely from the creature’s neck and was now clamped onto a raised platform on the other end of the chamber. 

“I want a security team at the object when we breach it. Whatever is inside that tube, we have to immediately secure it in a humanoid transport chamber, so I want one of those on standby as well, and I want everyone in full biological protection suits.”   
Heian counted the things out in her head. “Is it possible to get that ready within the hour Captain?” She turned to Brgetson.

The guard captain pulled out a small tablet and tapped a few times.  
“Yeah, should be just about able to.” she answered.   
“Then start preparations.” Heian asserted.  
“Yes ma’am” The soldier gave a salute then turned, tucking a stray strand of sky blue hair back under her cap.   
…………….

Heian sat up as the alarm rang out. The entire command center looked up from their work towards the window. On the other side of the hanger bay a small contingent of guards, engineers, assistant researchers, and D class were gathered in front of the object. A large rectangular box stood nearby; its front half had been swung open to reveal a human shaped depression in the material. Heian pressed a key, the ceiling monitors switching to a closeup view of the operation. 

“Making the first attempt now.” an engineer’s voice crackled over the radio. The engineer and two D class moved forwards and placed their hands onto a red crossbar.  
“Lift,” The engineer commanded. There was a creaking, as the hinged handle lifted into a diagonal position.  
“Turn, Counter clockwise!” The engineer said, with a groan from both the metal and the personale, the bar rotated slowly. Quarter of a turn, then half a turn, three quarters of a turn.

*Click*  
The team pulled and the hatch swun open.  
From inside the tube, a thin, orange liquid rushed out. It waterfalled quickly off of the side of the platform and onto the bay floor. Heian cursed silently, she had failed to consider that the entity depended on that fluid. But there was no time now, they had to establish containment before something happened. Several guards were at the hatch as soon as the flow died down and they rapidly clambered into the tube. Heian held her breath as they each went into the black hole. One second passed, then two, then a gloved hand emerged from the aperture and gripped onto the railing. The first guard stood up and held their hands forwards, as another from inside the vessel passed them the entity. Heian leaned forwards and quickly cycled through camera feeds to get a better view of the creature. It was unmistakably human, yet there was something off about it. Its anatomy was strange, with disproportionate limbs and torso. The hair on its head was also dark, almost black, a stark contrast to the usual blue hair of baseline humans. 

“Is it alive?” A voice came through the radio.  
“Life signs show a pulse and breathing,” came the response, “but no higher brain activity, it appears to be in a coma.”

“Secure the entity as quickly as possible!” Brigetson’s overriding voice burst through the speakers. The security team quickly responded, and in a few seconds the creature was sealed inside the box and was being wheeled to a provisional containment chamber.   
Heian let out a sigh and slumped back into her chair. She wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead, and allowed herself a small smile, success.   
…………….

There was a sensation at first, a pull and the mind followed it. Slowly the pull became stronger and other feelings began to touch the mind. The mind knew itself, it wasn't sure if it had a name, but a flood of emotions and memories rushed back to it. Friends, family, battles, and death. There was doubt, pain, despair, terror, a final revelation, and then…. Blank. The mind began to connect these things to names now. NERV, Evangelion, Third Impact, Asuka, Kaworu, Misato, Gendo, Rei. With a start, Shinji Ikari sat up in a hospital bed. 

A steady beeping filled the room and the harsh lights made him squint. Slowly, he surveyed the room. This was not the medical wing of NERV HQ, it was much smaller than the hospital rooms he knew and it had no windows. A small vent near the ceiling at the opposite end of the room quietly blew a light breeze across his face, and an armored door faced the foot of his bed. A strange logo occupied the center of the door. It was a circle, with three rectangular bumps on its edge which inscribed three inward pointing arrows. Shinji looked down at his arm. An IV had been inserted into his forearm and a myriad of sensors were strapped and his chest.

A hidden speaker crackled to life, startling him. “Good afternoon SCP 6079 dash 1” A woman’s voice echoed through the room.

Shinji opened his mouth but paused, trying to find his voice. After a minute he responded “Ar-are you talking about me?”

“Yes, your designation is SCP 6079 dash 1.” The voice repeated.

“My name is Shinji Ikari, where am I? Am I still at NERV HeadQuarters?” he asked nervously. 

“Your name is noted, but for protocol purposes, your official designation will remain SCP 6079 -1, and you will continue to be addressed as such, as for where you are, you are currently contained under the custody of the SCP Foundation,” The voice answered. 

Containment? Why was he being contained? Shinji’s mind spun. He couldn't afford to be locked up! Who was going to pilot unit 01? A cold feeling shot down his spine. Unit 01! The last thing he remembered was sitting inside the entry plug, there had been a battle, he remembered screaming, and pain; someone had died in that battle, was it Asuka? Kaworu?, his father? He couldn't remember. Then the tree of life, Rei was there, but something was wrong, her eyes were empty, and he was being pulled towards her. After that he remembered a feeling of warmth and belonging, and then…..nothing.

“SCP 6079 -1, is something wrong?” The disembodied voice asked, but Shinji ignored her. What had happened?

“SCP 6079-1 please respond,” the room began to spin in Shinji’s vision. He felt a rising bile in his stomach and looked up to lessen the nausea. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of Rei, her blue hair and school uniform stood in front of the door, her face emotionless and blank. Then in the next second she was gone again. Shinji squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, he focused on his breathing to try to clear his head. There was a clicking and a loud hiss, followed by the sound of motors and metal sliding.

“SCP 6079-1, do you require medical attention?” A voice asked, identical to the one that had come over the speakers.

Shinji drew his eyelids open and looked up again. Standing directly in front of him, at the foot of the bed, he saw Rei again.

“I…-I…I-I” Shinji managed to croak out. The figure in front of him was undoubtedly the blue haired pilot of unit-00, but she was taller than he remembered, if fact she was quite a bit taller than him, and her face carried the harder angles of adulthood. In place of a plug-suit or school uniform, she wore a long white coat. A button up shirt and tie were visible between the lapels. 

“Are you feeling ok?” The adult Rei asked again.

“Ay-A-Ayanami?” Shinji stammered out.

The woman in front of him narrowed her eyes slightly. “No…” she trailed off.

“Please! You have to remember me!” He cried. “You were there at the end! I remember it!”

“Please SCP 6079-1, calm down.” ‘Rei’ said. “You are safe, nothing is going to hurt you.” 

“You have to know something!” Shinji buried his head in his hands again. “You have to remember something! Tell me you know!” Shinji leapt onto his knees and reached for her coat lapels. 

The blue haired woman looked shocked and took a tentative step backwards as Shinji grabbed the cloth in his fist.

“SCP 6079, STAND DOWN!” came a shout from outside the room. He felt her pulling away from him and the thumping of boots on the ground. There was a hissing as the door opened again. 

Shinji saw a figure enter the room behind the woman who looked like Ayanami. There was a blur of black and grey of a combat uniform, the barrel of a gun was raised to his chest, and there was a bang. 

Shocked, he looked down to see a feathered dart protruding from his torso. The room around him began to spin; his head was already becoming woozy and his hands lost their grip on the coat as he fell backwards into the mattress. As his eyes struggled to stay open, Shinji realized with a final horror that the soldier was also Rei Ayanami. 

…………….

Researcher Heian leaned into her workstation as the door to the command room opened. She shakily grabbed her coffee cup and downed another gulp.

“I got the site payroll documents from RAISA,” Brigetson’s voice rang out from behind her.  
“There is one Rei Ayanami working at this site, but she’s part of the janitorial staff, no contact with SCP 6079, and completely baseline human.” 

Heian groaned. “Another dead end…” she trailed off, staring at the blinking cursor on her screen.

“This also came back.” Brigetson informed her, dropping a hefty file next to the laptop.  
“Preliminary organic assessment.”

Heian sat up straighter and rubbed her bloodshot eyes with the back of her left hand, reaching for the folder with her right.

“Doctor, I think you should take a rest-” Brigetson began.  
“I’m fine Captain”, Heian yawned as she flipped open the file. The stack of papers had clearly been put together in a hurry, with large clips holding the loose sheets in place and plastic sticky tabs marking different sections of the report. Heian found “Genetic Analysis” and hurriedly flipped to it.

The lettering was small and Heian squinted as she pulled the desklamp closer, bathing the paper in a pool of warm yellow illumination. Her eyes flew down the page, scanning every line and detail. SCP 6079-1 was genetically human, although about half of its alleles were not present in any known human population. Genetic age suggested it was around 14 years old, barely adolescent. Chromosomal analysis showed that it was half-sex, possessing only Y-chromosome characteristics. There were no matches for commonly known anomalous mutations. Besides the unidentified genes, it was completely human. Heian rabidly flipped back to the front, a complete body scan showed only the normal organs; brain imaging returned what they had expected: a sedated, tranquilized state. She ruffled through the long list of lesser tests: blood type, white cell count, blood oxygenation level, metabolic rate, all within human bounds.

Heian nearly threw the folder in frustration, sending the file sliding across the table.  
“Besides some genes, it’s completely baseline human!” Heian buried her face in her folded arms and groaned loudly into her sleeves. Brigetson, stood quietly behind her, checking her phone.

Heian suddenly sat up and spun around in her chair.   
“I need another interview with it, as soon as possible!” 

Brigetson shook her head.  
“You saw how it reacted to you, we still have no idea what this thing is capable of. As task force captain, I cannot allow you to come in contact with a potentially hostile anomaly.”

“We’ll set up security,” Heian countered, “There are rooms in this site built to interrogate Reality Benders, those would be sufficient.”  
Brigetson sighed. “Those facilities require level 4 approval. If you want access, you’re going to have to ask the Site Director again.”

Heian threw her arms up. “Brigetson, please!” her formality forgotten. “I just need half an hour! There's something more to SCP 6079, something very important, I know it!”

The captain pursed her lips.

Heian continued. “Did you hear what it said? That child knows something we don’t, the technology in that cyborg, it could revolutionize our research by decades!” 

Brigetson took off her shades and looked down, cleaning them on her sleeve.  
“I’ll get you fifteen minutes.” she said flatly.

Heian’s face relaxed and she slumped back in her chair.  
“Thank you captain..” She trailed off.

“Tomorrow at 10:30,” Beigetson replied, putting her glasses back on and tuned to the door.  
Heian watched as the door opened, illuminating her face with a warm yellow glow. A moment later the door hissed back into place, leaving Heian in darkness again. 

…………….

Vague feelings swirled around him, he remembered that this wasn’t the first time he had been here. Slowly he felt a pull again, a tug towards consciousness. He felt layers of awareness go past him as his mind was finally brought back into the waking world and Shinji opened his eyes again.

A familiar ceiling met his eyes. He blinked a few times clearing his vision and then he tried to sit up. A sharp pain shot through his torso. He coughed out of surprise, causing more stabbing bursts to shoot through him. Finally his coughing fit subsided and he propped his shoulders up against a cold metal headboard. Looking down at his chest, he saw a large patch of gauze taped onto the center of the pain. 

A memory flashed before his eyes. He had been shot, a tranquilizer dart, but who had shot him?  
He blinked a few times, a blur of blue. Rei.

Suddenly, the events of the previous day came rushing back to him. He had woken up in this bed before, he had been questioned by someone who looked exactly like Ayanami, and he had also been shot by someone else who was also Ayanami. He moved to rub his head, but his hand was jerked to a stop by a metal cuff. He turned his head to find both his wrists chained to a pair of anchors on the wall behind him. Dismayed, Shinji glanced around the room again, his eyes drifting to and resting on a blinking camera dome in the ceiling.   
As if on queue, a voice echoed through the room. 

“SCP 6079-1, The room has been aerosolized with a tranquilizer antidote. We will be conducting an intake interview to establish your history and anomalous properties in five minutes, please prepare yourself to answer questions calmly and swiftly.” 

Shinji could definitely hear it now, the inflections, attitude, and mannerisms may have been different, but the voice that came from the unseen speaker was clearly produced by the vocal cords of Rei Ayanami. His eyes dropped to the sheets. Absentmindedly, his eyes began to trace the simple swirling patterns on the thin fabric. Questions and doubts swam in his mind, how long had it been since he last entered unit 01? What had happened to his friends? The people at NERV? His father? Most importantly, why was he being held captive by people who looked and sounded exactly like Rei Ayanami? A feeling of dread washed over him. 

There was a hiss at the door and his eyes immediately snapped up. The heavy white panel slid away revealing the same blue haired woman he saw yesterday. Or at least he assumed it was the same person. The woman stepped forwards and the door slid shut behind her.

“Good morning SCP 6079-1,” she said. “I hope we come to a more mutual understanding today, I’ll be asking a few questions, it will only be fifteen minutes or so.”

Shinji nodded slowly.

“Excellent.” the blue haired figure responded. 

She pulled a light plastic chair from underneath a table and sat down. Shinji stared at her as she pulled out a clipboard and set a recorder down on a table bolted to the wall. 

“Alright, I am Doctor Heian, and I am conducting the intake interview for SCP 6079 -1” She leaned over the microphone. 

“First thing, SCP 6079-1, what is the nature of SCP 6079, the creature we found you in?” 

Shinji was taken aback, the entire world knew of the Evangelion project, or at least anyone with military connections must have had some record of it…

“That’s Evangelion unit 01” Shinji said quietly.

The doctor raised an eyebrow in a way that Shinji had never known Rei to do.

“And what is the origin of an Evangelion?” 

Shinji drew a blank. That was top secret information that he wasn't allowed access to. But as he thought, several fragments floated up from the depths of his subconscious. 

“They were built- err, cloned, by NERV to combat the angels.” 

The doctor did not look up and wrote something hurriedly on the clipboard. 

“What are these ‘Evangelions’ cloned from?” she continued.

Shinji opened his mouth to reply, but something in the back of his mind stopped him. Something that Misato had said, what was kept at the bottom of NERV was either the key to humanity’s survival, or its destruction. He suddenly didn't think that telling this woman how Evangelions were made was such a great idea.

“I-..I don't know..” he trailed off. 

The doctor simply looked back down at her paper and wrote something before continuing.

“Do you know where you came from?” she questioned

“I -uh worked at NERV Headquarters in Tokyo-3, Japan.” Shinji responded, before thinking about the strangeness of his current situation and then adding “That's on earth.”

The woman sat up straighter and leaned forwards.  
“What year was it when you got into SCP 6079 ,uh- the Evangelion, last time ?” she pressed.

“It’s 2015 right now, isn’t it?” he cautiously answered.

“Yes it is…” the doctor trailed off and pulled out a tablet. After a few seconds she looked back up. “But we have no records of a organization called NERV, nor of a city called Tokyo 3”

Shinji’s heart sank. Everything he knew….was it really gone without a trace?  
Tears began to collect in the corners of his eyes, but he blinked through them. He had to ask the obvious.

“Can I-I ask something?” Shinji sniffled.

The doctor’s face softened. 

“Yes, but classified information will not be revealed. “

Shinji steadied his breathing.  
“Why do you all look like that...the blue hair and red eyes?”

The woman looked shocked, the question catching her off guard. She slowly opened her mouth to speak.  
“Tha-That is what all baseline humans look like.” She answered slowly. “Your appearance is different due to a number of genes that differ from baseline humans, that is the only anomaly we can currently find about you.” 

“What?!” Shinji cried. “All humans look like that?! Since when??”

The doctor scrunched her eyebrows up. “This has been the general appearance of humanity since our species evolved.”

“But I AM HUMAN!” Shinji pleaded. “Not every person is a blue haired, red eyed girl! There was only one person who looked like that! She was Rei Ayanami!” 

The room was silent for a moment. The last echoes of the plea hung in the air. Then the doctor spoke.   
“I don’t have an answer to that, I’m sorry SCP 6079, but I’m not even too sure about what you mean….” 

Shinji sniffed once, and twice, then his figure shook as a sob wracked his body. He tried to pull his hands up but the restiants caught them, instead he drew his knees up and rested his head on them as tears flowed from his eyes. 

The doctor leaned out of her chair “SCP 607-” 

Shinji’s sob increased in volume as her voice left her mouth and quickly she pulled away. She sat as the child cried and weeped, the pained wails reflecting off the confined walls. After a minute she collected her things and stood again. Walking over to each side of the bed, she reached into her pocket and unlocked the cuffs at Shinji’s wrists, then she walked back out the door, the hissing of locks drowned out by Shinji’s sobs. 

…………….

Junior researcher Heian let out a breath as the heavy steel locked into place. Just her luck, her first assignment as head researcher was an emotionally unstable child. Still, she couldn't help but to feel a pang of guilt. The Foundation wouldn’t be able to get any information from it in this state, but this ‘entity’ was clearly a sapient being who was in great pain. She frowned as she thought of herself being alone and at the mercy of the Foundation’s bureaucracy. Sighing quietly, Heian looked at her notes. The entity had recounted a radically different version of history, named cities that never existed, and alluded to technology that even the Foundation had no grasp on. What had been just another humanoid now had....larger implications. If this was what she thought it was, then there was only one person who knew what to do. Without another thought Heian jogged down the hall, back towards the office wing of the site.

Turning down a long white corridor filled with offices, Heian slowed her pace as she approached a door on the left side. A plaque on the side of the entrance designated this as the office of one Senior Researcher Varuss Keena, Site Liaison for the Department of Extra-Universal Affairs. Heian caught her breath and straightened her tie underneath her lab coat and knocked twice.

“Come in!” A jittery voice emerged from inside the door.

Turning the knob, Heian pushed the door open and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind her. The office was small, roughly the same size as Heian’s own room four corridors down, and far smaller than the executive suite that was Site Director Tallerin’s office. An ancient bookcase was leaned against the left wall, its cherry-wood shelves reaching to the ceiling. Binders, papers, and folders were strewn across the faded carpet, with open filing cabinets occupying the opposite wall. At the far end of the room was a narrow desk with a figure hunched over an ancient computer terminal. 

Researcher Heian cleared her throat and spoke. “Doctor Varuss Keena?” 

The figure in the chair stopped typing and straightened their posture, causing a mess waist length cyan locks to roll across her back. The person swiveled and Heian came face to face with a gaunt looking visage. 

“Yes! That’s me! And you are?” she extended a shaky hand. 

Heian shook the outstretched limb. “I’m junior researcher Heian, project head on SCP 6079.”

Instantly, Doctor Keena’s eyes lit up like two crimson stars. “Ahhh! The building sized cyborg from the moon! Now that is the discovery of a lifetime if I’ve ever seen one!”

The older woman leaned back into her chair and took a long swig of what Heian assumed was coffee. “So, what brings you to me?” she asked, turning her excited gaze back to Heian. 

“Well, the primary anomaly, the cyborg, ejected a capsule which contained another humanoid entity.” Heian explained. “I interviewed this entity and it claimed to come from a version of earth with significantly altered biology, technology and history.”

“So you believe this creature is an interdimensional traveler?” Doctor Keena asked.

“Yes, but not voluntarily, it seems to just be a child, and was in severe emotional distress.” Heian clarified.

Doctor Keena looked down and shook her head. “It's always the young ones,” she mumbled.  
“If the Ethics Committee actually gave a damn…” She trailed off staring at the ground. Suddenly she clapped her hands and looked up.  
“Anyways! She said, her previous indignation at administration seemingly forgotten. “You would like to find out which universe this entity comes from, correct?”

“That would be best,” Heian affirmed.

“Well then! Let's get to it!” Doctor Keena cried. Spinning her chair around she shoved a heavy stack of papers off a nearby stool and motioned for Heian to sit. The older woman slid a pair of thick rimmed glasses up her nose and cracked her knuckles.

“To find which universe our visitor in question comes from, I’ll need some identifying features,” Dr. Keena said as she opened the Foundation extra universal database. It was a few seconds before Heian realized that this was directed at her, and not just self mutterings of the eccentric Senior researcher. 

“Oh, sorry,” Heian apologized as she fumbled for her Foundation tablet. Navigating to the SCP 6079 file, she pulled up the summary of the child. “Uhm, the most identifying features are Y chromosome only, black hair and eyes. It claimed that where it was from, humanity had much more genetic diversity than our universe.”

The senior researcher clacked away at the keyboard, shortening the list of potential universes. 

“It also mentioned that it was part of a military organization known as NERV, spelled N-E-R-V.” Heian added.

Doctor Keena typed a few more words, and the potential list changed again, this time shortening to nothing. The senior researcher swiveled her chair again to face Heian.

“Sorry dear, there are no universes within the database that match that description.”

Heian knitted her eyebrows together and shook her head. “Then where could both of these anomalies have come from?” 

Doctor Keena pulled a knot out of her hair and replied.  
“Despite all of our efforts, we haven’t even mapped out a fraction of the multiverse yet.” Doctor Keena explained.” The amount of variation in universes is vast, It's entirely possible that SCP 6079 comes from a reality we do not yet know of.”

Heian’s shoulders sagged. Another dead end. Keenan saw her colleague's dismay and put a hand on her shoulder.  
“Don’t give up yet!” She encouraged. “If the anomalous were easy to understand, the Foundation wouldn't exist, keep to procedure and make sure that your team and the anomalies are both safe. If you can do that, especially with a skip of this size, then you’re doing your job fine.” Keenan gave a thin smile and Heian returned it. 

“Thanks for the help Doctor,” the younger researcher said.

“Anytime!” Keenan called after the younger woman, who had already left the room.  
Heian rubbed her temples as she stood out in the hallway. There was one more thing that she remembered from the interview that she needed to find out about. The Angels that these cybernetic weapons had been built to fight. She didn’t have enough time in the last interview, but hopefully she could secure another one tomorrow. The amount of leads she had was thinning out by the minute.

Heian was just turning to get back to the main corridor when an alarm blared out across the hallway.

“THIS IS NOT A DRILL, INITIATION OF LEVEL 3 LOCKDOWN COMMENCING, REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL, LEVEL 3 LOCKDOWN IS BEING INITIATED” A voice blared over the PA system. All around Heian, heads poked out of the office doors into the once deserted hallway.

“AN EKHI-CRITICAL CLASS ENTITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED ADVANCING TOWARDS THIS SITE, ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO OBSERVE LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES AND FAMILIARIZE THEMSELVES WITH SAFE ROOM LOCATIONS” The warning blared through every speaker in the site. 

Heian wasted no time and sprinted towards the main common area. As she burst through the double doors of the lounge, she could see an ocean of blue hair already assembled under a large television screen. The picture on the monitor was a landscape. A label in the upper left identified this as a feed from an external perimeter camera. As she looked, Heian could see the scenic mountains and hills that she knew so well. But today there was no peace. A dark shape moved in the distance, a figure, almost human in appearance, shuffled forwards slowly. Every so often, it would be hit by an explosion, to no effect. The camera feed switched. The picture was now looking at the entity from above. Heian recognized the shadow of a Foundation gunship on the ground far below. 

The creature was now in full view of the whole room. It was massive, standing over 80 meters tall with long, lean limbs and a broad, headless torso. Something resembling a mask was recessed into the front of the chest, right above an exposed rib cage like structure which held a crimson orb. Tanks and other AFVs scurried around its feet, hammering it with armor piercing shells and auto cannon rounds. The camera panned up, catching the shape of an attack helicopter unleashing a barrage of missiles at the creature. But the entity ignored its attackers slowly lifting one thin, muscular leg and ploding it in front of the other. Suddenly, the camera tilted towards the sky, as the gunship banked away, catching a glimpse of a rocket streaked in, engulfing the creature in a massive fireball. The room held its breath as the smoke and ash dissipated, revealing the creature standing still, unharmed. An instant later the eyes on the mask flashed and the feed cut out. 

Gasps went through the crowd and a din began to start before the screen flickered to life again. It was the perimeter camera again, but this time the scene was unrecognizable. A massive pillar of energy blasted into the sky at the center of the image. The violet plasma appeared at least a hundred meters wide; near the apex of the blast, two prongs of energy eriely jutted out from the main column forming a massive glowing cross. Heian was still trying to process what she was seeing when the shock-wave hit.


	2. The First Conflagration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Site 47 is in chaos as it comes under attack from the third angel. As the O5 council prepare their secret weapon, Shinji must try to survive an angel attack without unit 01.

Director Tallerin gripped the edges of the long onyx table as the room shook. Dust filtered down from the ceiling panels and the lights flickered erratically. Cursing, Tallerin grabbed her laptop and opened a link to site security. A gas masked face underneath a combat helmet appeared on her screen.

“Damage report!” she ordered.

“Superficial damage so far ma’am.” The soldier reported in a muffled voice. “Electrical systems, ventilation, plumbing, life support, point defenses and containment cells are still at full integrity.” 

“The fire-team?” Tallerin inquired.

“No response.” The obscured face answered. “All lines are down.”

Tallerin grabbed a fistful of her hair and gritted her teeth. An entire battalion wiped out in an instant; so many lives gone in a flash. She let out a shaky breath and looked back up at the screen.

“Evacuate every anomaly from the light containment zone into heavy containment, and get all non essential personnel into safe rooms.” She ordered. “I will report this to the O5’s.”

“Understood ma’am, security out.” The gas mask nodded and the picture faded to black. 

Tallerin wasted no time and stood from her chair. Turning around, she punched in a combination onto a keypad. There was a click from inside the wall, then a hidden door moved back and slid away revealing a small room. Tallerin rushed in and sealed the door behind her. Inside was a single steel table and chair. Sitting on the metal, quietly humming, was a standard Foundation computer terminal. This was one of nine direct lines in existence to Site 01, the fortress of the Overseer Council. Tallerin sat down and imputed her credentials. The black screen lit up to a rotating Foundation logo. The Site Director waited and stared for a minute. There was a ding, and the screen saver was replaced by the minimalist UI of a Foundation video conference.   
Tallerin glanced at the participants; only four members of the council of thirteen were present.

O5-5’s name lit up. “We are aware of the situation.” An electronically disguised voice echoed through the room. “The council has already decided on a plan of action.” 

Tallerin frowned. “Councillors, we have lost an entire heavy fire battalion to it already; none of their weapons had any effect on it, and there is no evidence that any of our site defenses will have any chance of repelling it. I recommend that we terminate any dangerous anomalies we can and evacuate the rest, along with all personale, to Site-25. We remote detonate the onsite warhead when the entity is right on top of it, and then figure out a plan of containment from there.”

“Unacceptable.” O5-8 countered. The voice was likewise modulated but in a distinct manner so each O5 had a unique, but false voice. “The loss of assets and valuable research materials is too high to be acceptable. Furthermore, the detonation of a nuclear device presents a risk for a broken masquerade scenario.”

“We are implementing some more...esoteric options.” O5-6 elaborated. “Anomalous solutions are not out of the question.”

Tallerin opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it again. The O5’s ordering anomaly usage was not a decision taken lightly, especially after what happened with Pandora’s Box.   
Instead she replied with a question.

“What did the council have in mind?” she probed.

“The Foundation is in possession of a weapon that the council believes is capable of neutralizing this entity.” O5-5 explained. “Doctor Clef is currently transporting this weapon to your location by air.” 

Director Tallerin’s eyes widened; Doctor Alto Clef was a legend in the upper levels of the Foundation. A prolific assassin of reality benders, one of the O5’s most trusted agents, and according to some, a powerful anomaly. Regardless of the truth, all that had met the enigmatic doctor had their own story about this strange figure, with some claiming that Clef wasn’t even human. 

“What is the ETA on this…weapon?” Tallerin asked. “Given the speed at which the entity is advancing, we will be overrun within two hours.” she said.

“Delivery of the weapon is of no concern.” O5-3 said flatly. “But usage of the item is another matter.” The Overseer continued. 

Tallerin's eyes widened as she heard the O5’s orders.

…………….

Shinji didn't move when he heard the alarm go off, nor did he react when the whole room had shaken and the floor lights had switched on. He had run out of tears half an hour ago, but the despair in his heart had not eased. He had wondered about the possibility that he was trapped inside another angel like Leliel, but that experience had felt dream-like and surreal. He was lucid now. This was real. He shakily lifted his hand to his face and closed it into a fist, focusing his attention on the creasing and folding of the skin. 

There was the now familiar hiss of the door opening and a pair of heavy boots stepped into the room. 

“Get up, the site’s in lock down. All anomalies are being temporarily relocated to heavy containment.” The 

Shinji responded by curling tighter into a fetal position. There was a silence, and then the rapid march of boots to the side of his bed. Shinji felt a hand grab his forearm and pull. He lurched to a sitting position and came face to face with the same ‘Rei’ that had shot him. The soldier grimaced and produced a pair of heavy handcuffs. Shinji felt the cold metal press against his wrist and then the ratcheting clicks as the restraints locked into place. 

“On your feet.” the guard commanded. Shinji was too mentally exhausted to disobey, and so swung his feet to the ground and slipped into the pair of slippers provided to him. There was a jerk on the cuffs and Shinji was reluctantly pulled out the door. 

The world outside his cell was chaos. Alarms that had been dampened by the walls now blared into his ears at full volume. People ran down the wide corridors in every direction. Some held heavy assault rifles, others had nothing but sheets of paper in their hands. Some were in immaculate suits, while others wore a simple hospital gown like himself. Yet every individual he focused on had the same features: Blue hair of various lengths, red eyes, and pale skin. As he examined the features on those faces, he saw a myriad of emotions he had never seen Rei express. There was terror, panic, rage, frustration and despair etched into a face that Shinji had only ever seen put on a mild smile. 

Shinji’s world began to spin as a bout of vertigo overtook him. This was sensory overload, this was the result of shock after shock piling onto his depleted psyche; only the continued pulling of his captor prevented him from tipping over.

They turned down one hallway, then another, then another, then another. Shinji’s mind gave up trying to keep track of the labyrinth after the fifth left turn. As they made their way deeper and deeper into the facility, Shinji began to realize that each new corridor contained fewer and fewer people. Those that he did see were sprinting in the opposite direction. As the pair reached another intersection, Shinji glanced up at a large flat screen anchored to the wall. His eyes widened and he dug his heels into the ground as he recognized the image. 

“W-WAIT WAit wait!” he yelled at his captor as he struggled to keep the screen in his field of view. “That’s an Angel!”

The soldier instantly stopped and turned around. “What did you say?” she demanded.

“That!” Shinji pointed at the monitor with a cuffed hand. “That’s the first Angel I fought!” 

The blue haired woman walked besides him. The picture on the screen was grainy, and the figure was still distant, but Shinji immediately recognized the shape that haunted his dreams. A broad, triangular torso and thin, muscular limbs towered above a blasted landscape. Its singular beaked face sat perfectly centered above the glowing crimson core. 

“You know what that is?” the soldier asked aggressively. 

“Ye- well not really.” Shinji admitted. 

“But you said you fought it before?” She pressed.

“That was when I was piloting Unit 01, without an Evangelion it can’t be defeat-” 

“Your weapon is out of action.” The woman said bluntly. “But do you know its weak points? Vulnerabilities?” She continued. 

“Yea, the core- the red sphere on its ches-” Shinji started to explain.

But the woman had heard enough and had already pulled a radio mouthpiece from her vest.   
“This is task force captain Brigetson, I am bringing a non hostile anomaly to site security headquarters; it claims to have knowledge on how to neutralize the attacking entity. I repeat I am bringing a non-hostile anomaly to site security headquarters, do not shoot!” 

Shinji saw the world spin again, but this time from the captain pulling on his handcuffs. He saw a blur of doors, walls, and hallways. Then suddenly it stopped. They were facing another corridor connected to the same intersection.

“That way, hurry!” The captain shouted. Before Shinji could protest, she sprinted down the hall dragging him behind her.

…………….

Site Director Tallerin squinted as the armored bulkhead opened, casting the harsh noon light onto her face. Four of her personal security detail fanned out onto the landing pad in front of her. Hovering above the hexagonal platform was the hulking gray silhouette of a twin rotor helicopter. Tallerin frowned as she saw the underside of the aircraft was bare. She had expected that a weapon capable of killing such a monster needed to be airlifted. Obviously whatever the O5’s had procured was not just some giant cannon. Tallerin wrinkled her nose as she detected the pungent smell of ozone wafting from behind her. The amount of matter that monster had vaporized in one attack was immense and the periodic tremors that shook the site reminded her that with every minute their time shortened. 

“Let her down!” called the aircraft marshaller in her neon vest. A short second later, the wheels of the massive craft gently touched the surface. With a whirring sound the cargo bay door slowly descended. Tallerin hurriedly ran to stand in front of the ramp; the O5’s had given strict orders that only Dr. Clef was permitted to handle the weapon, and she wanted to get a good look at this enigmatic character. As the ramp touched the ground, A single guard stepped forwards. Tallerin immediately recognized the pin on her body armor. A circle inscribing a hand pierced by an arrow. Mobile Task Force Alpha-1, the Red Right Hand, the personal elite army of the Overseer Council. 

“Site Director Tallerin! A pleasure to meet you!” A smooth, composed voice drifted out from the back of the cargo bay. The director squinted as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. A thin figure stood silhouetted against the light filtering through the cockpit windows. A wide brimmed hat flapped in the breeze.

“Doctor Alto Clef?” Tallerin asked.

“Of course.” The figure replied. “The one and only.” Stepping forwards out of the shadow, Tallerin realized that none of the rumors did the doctor justice. She had expected a person of middle age, yet their height and face shape suggested adolescence. A spikey mass of silver hair peeked out from under the dark brown hat which shadowed a pair of eyes that glowed a blazing crimson. A loose white shirt clad their lanky body, and a long brown jacket hung over that. 

Tallerin realized with a start that Doctor Clef was half-sex, she could only see Y chromosome characteristics on their figure. Still, that didn’t explain the drastic difference in hair color or facial features which she had never seen on any normal person; perhaps the rumors about Clef not being entirely human were onto something. 

“Welcome to site 47.” Tallerin greeted the doctor with an outstretched hand. 

“I am glad to be of service.” Clef replied as they gripped the Site Director’s hand and shook it. 

Another tremor reminded Tallerin of why Clef was here. 

“So, the weapon…” She suggested. 

“Yes! Of course.” Clef replied in their smooth voice. Tallerin expected for them to go back inside the helicopter to get it, but the doctor simply reached to their belt and produced a short metal canister. Placing one hand on either end, Clef gave the container a sharp twist, and extracted the device. 

Tallerin scrunched her eyebrows as she observed the supposedly precious contents. It was a bright red cylinder about the thickness of an arm; a seam spiraled down the side of the object showing it to be made of two thick strands. Clef grabbed the device with their other hand and brought it fully into view. Instantly the weapon began to lengthen. It’s diameter narrowed as it’s strands unwound, rapidly transforming into a helical lance even taller than Tallerin herself. On the upper end, the ribbons unraveled completely, forming two parallel tines, each over two feet long.

“The Spear of the Non-Believer.” Clef marveled at the fully extended javelin. “The Lance of Longinus.”

Tallerin was awestruck for a moment as well; on a primal level she somehow knew that this weapon could do as the council had promised. 

“Do you know how to use this thing?” Tallerin asked as she regained her composure.

“Yes, why, it’s very simple.” Clef responded.

“Good.” Tallerin nodded. “Then let’s get inside, we need to discuss a plan of attack.”   
The O5’s agent said something into an ear piece and nodded to the Site Director. In a moment the helicopter had started up again and Tallerin was back in an elevator with Clef and her own security unit, watching the blast doors seal. 

…………….

Junior researcher Heian groaned as she shifted uncomfortably in the elevator car. After the shockwave had hit, she had been herded through the hallways and crammed into an industrial lift by site security, along with two dozen other non-combat personnel to be safely locked away in one of the lower level safe rooms; worst of all, she had been squeezed in as one of the last people on this trip down, and so her face was pressed against the cold steel of the door. 

The elevator dinged letting the only guard inside the elevator know that they had reached the correct floor. As the door slid open, Heian almost fell on her face from the pressure of all the bodies behind her, thankfully she managed to stumble out into the hallway on her feet.   
“Down that way!” Security personnel ordered those filing out of the elevator.   
Heian was just regaining her bearing on the wrong side of the hallway when the world exploded. 

Heian was thrown against the masonry of the walls as the force of the blast tore through the site, bringing the floor above caving down into the hallway below. Instinctively, she covered the back of her neck and face as she drew herself into a fetal position. Concrete and steel crashed around her and torn wires sparked. Then the cacophony was deafening, with thousands of tons of infrastructure plunging past her head. After what felt like an eternity, the torrent slowed until it was just the tumble of pebbles. Heian cracked open an eye to a scene of utter devastation. The path to the safe room was gone, blocked by massive pieces of shattered masonry and twisted metal. Half the lights on the whole floor had gone out and pipes leaked above her head. She staggered to her feet and checked for injuries. By some miracle, she had been spared anything worse than a few large bruises. Her mind spun. She needed to get to the safe room beyond the rubble, but if the blast had ripped through all the floors above and several below, then there was no direct path on any level. Luckily Heian knew this wing of the facility well. Ten floors up, there was another corridor that went around and led to a stairwell that would exit right in front of the safe room. It was not a sure bet, but it was her only option. Sprinting down the first left, Heian took off towards the stairwell to bring her upwards.

…………….

Shinji nearly tripped as Captain Brigetson burst through a double door. He winced as the left door rebounded and hit his shoulder, throwing him off balance. 

“Oww!- hey!” Shinji protested. 

Brigetson whipped around, dark glasses obscuring her annoyed glare.

“Can you still move?” she asked.

“Ye-eah.” Shinji stammered as he rubbed his shoulder. 

“We don't have much time!” The captain barked.

The hallway shook violently.

“Now!” Brigetson cried. Then the entire building was torn apart. Shinji was thrown off his feet and into flight, he was tumbling in the air so fast, he barely felt the thwack of his skull hitting something hard before darkness overtook him. 

Shinji found himself on a beach. He was sitting with his knees to his chest, watching scarlet waves lapping against bone white sand. There was a violent coughing from beside him. Shinji turned his head, and realized with a shock that it was Asuka dry heaving. She feebly brought a hand up to her throat which was encircled by several red marks.

Trembling, Shinji brought a hand up to his face and closed it into a fist. He opened it, then closed it again, repeating the motion. What had he done? The memories came rushing back to him like a flood. Ritsuko had brought him to the bowels of the Geofront to show him the clones of Rei, and then she had destroyed them. He had met Kaworu, who had turned out to be an angel. He remembered feeling his friend’s bones break in the fist of Unit 01. Selee had launched their final attack on NERV; Unit 02 had been torn to shreds by a hoard of white Evangelion units, and then Instrumentality began. He remembered being drawn into the planet sized Lilith, his decision to end humanity, and then his decision to bring it all back. And he remembered kneeling on this beach and feeling the rage and hatred drain out of him as Asuka caressed his face. A tear rolled down his cheek. Shinji opened his eyes.

His entire body screamed in agony, but he was alive. Where there was a wall before, Shinji now saw a gigantic, gaping hole. He could make out the early afternoon rays and the blue sky beyond the twisted concrete and steel. Slowly turning his head, Shinji saw the form of Brigetson lying still several meters away in an untouched area of the corridor. Looking around, Shinji found a solid piece of debris to prop himself up with and began to reach for it. It was just then that the sunlight was blocked out. Shinji turned his head as fast as he could to find the outside world obscured by the massive beaked visage of Sachiel. Shinji froze as he remembered the first time he saw the monstrosity crush a gunship right in front of him. The angel had not paid him much heed back then, and for a second he hoped that he would be ignored again; his heart dropped as a blinding flash erupted from the hollow eyes. Shinji curled into a ball and screamed as a blast the size of a nuclear weapon exploded three meters from his face. 

There was no heat, no burning sensation, in fact he didn’t feel anything change  
in the seconds following what should have been his atomization. Slowly opening an eyelid, Shinji could clearly see the tempest of violet plasma roaring into the sky, but between the inferno above and his frail body below, was the shimmering octagonal pattern of an A.T field.   
Shinji hurriedly scanned the broken hallways for the source of the barrier. The corridors were just as they had been before, crumbling and ruined, with sparks and rubble falling from above. As he whirled his head around, Shinji caught a glimpse of a figure standing in the distance. A wide brimmed hat obscured their face and Shinji squinted to see through the blinding light enveloping him. Then the figure tilted their head upwards and Shinji saw the kind, red eyes and the gentle smile of the only person that ever loved him. 

Shinji opened his mouth to speak, but his voice caught in his throat. A stream of tears poured down both his cheeks as his larynx quivered in his neck.   
“K-Ka-woru?!” his voice cracked as it spilled from his lips.

Despite the distance between them and the cacophony of destruction above. The response carried clearly and smoothly through the air.  
“Shinji, I’m so glad to see you again!”


	3. Shapes in the Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the O5 council's secret weapon confronts the third angel, Shinji learns more about the true nature of his situation. All around him, the plans of humans, angels and gods are put into motion.

Shinji blinked the pooling tears from the corners of his eyes. “I- I thou-… yo-u died!” he sputtered out. His vision was getting fuzzy and the pain from the back of his head became more intense; black dots swarmed his sight. Kaworu’s feet lifted off the ground, and in a split second he was by Shinji’s side. Kaworu slid a graceful arm under Shinji’s neck and cradled his head. 

“I’m here Shinji.” The gray haired boy reassured him. “I’m always here.”

Shinji managed a weak smile. He felt the rest of his body lift off the rubble, then the hallway blurred past his eyes and he was being gently lowered onto the smooth tiles of the unbroken floor. As Kaworu pulled away, Shinji sat up and wrapped his arms around the angel. 

“I-I’m sorry!” He could no longer hold it back and his tears flowed freely down his face and across Kaworu’s back. “I thought everyone was dead! I thought there was nothing left!” Shinji buried his face into Kaworu’s shoulder.

The silver haired angel gently patted him on the back. “Third impact is over.” He reassured. “You chose to end instrumentality, no one can fault you for that.” Shinji leaned back and closed his eyes. “But this world is the consequence of that choice.” Kaworu continued. 

Shinji raised his head and looked into Kaworu’s eyes again. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“This world’s existence, your arrival in it, and all the other lilim on this planet are ultimately the result of your decision during the third impact.” Kaworu explained.

“How do I go back?!” Shinji pleaded. “I-I remember a beach, the ocean, and Asuka!”

“I’m afraid it is not that simple.” Kaworu shook his head.

A titanic convulsion rippled through the hall. Another massive piece of the wall fell away revealing Sachiel’s claw.

“I have to go, there is work to be done.'' Kaworu said as he laid Shinji back down. 

“Wait-!” Shinji cried as he reached to pull Kaworu back, but the angel leaned in and planted a light kiss on the boy’s forehead. 

“I will see you again, Shinji Ikari.” Kaworu soothed as he turned away.

Shinji saw Kaworu reach to his waist and pull out a stout cylinder. As he watched, it rapidly transformed into the familiar shape of the Spear of Longinus, albeit human sized. 

Sachiel’s eyes flashed again, but the blast was immediately reflected by another A.T field. Kaworu lifted off the ground and floated forwards, out of the broken walls and towards the monstrous messenger. The third angel didn't seem to notice and charged up its eyes again. Suddenly there was the sound of something impacting an A.T. field and Sachiel topple out of view from the force of another barrier slamming into its face. Shinji slumped back and let his body relax as the sounds of battle grew ever distant. He needed rest, his whole body ached and as the adrenaline wore off, his eye lids grew heavy. Shinji didn’t fight to stay awake this time.

…………….

Heian nearly collapsed as she shoved open the last door. She had made it, ten floors above the safe room. To her left a window ran along the entire hall, casting an orange light onto the pale walls. Heian knew she had to hurry, being above ground put her squarely in the sights of any attacker, but she needed to know what the situation was. Dragging her screaming legs behind her, she placed her face up to the window and surveyed the landscape. At first she could see nothing but smoke pouring from the floors below and the devastated hillsides. Then she saw the shape. Several hundred meters away was the terrifying form of the monster that had assaulted the site, but something was wrong. She contorted her eyebrows, the creature appeared to be in pitched battle against….something. It was being rapidly pummeled by a series of shimmering, iridescent barriers with no apparent source. Every so often, it stood back up and fired an earthshaking blast in a seemingly random direction. But the explosion would always be intercepted by the same shimmering octagons before it could strike the ground. Heian watched, dumbstruck, as what was previously an unstoppable monster was reduced to a ragdoll being tossed around by an invisible attacker. Heian braced herself as it hit the ground and immediately got up, thrusting both its arms forwards. Purple spikes erupted from the center of the claws striking another barrier. There was a chromatic flash and both the creature's arms fell from its side, cleanly separated at the shoulders. Purple blood poured from the wounds as the creature was thrown onto its back by the force of the attack.

Heian held her breath, was it finally dead? Her question was answered when the creature sat up again. Another burst of light from its eyes and a gigantic cross of plasma erupted in front of it, this time there was no spontaneous barrier to contain the full force of the explosion. Heian ducked as the site shook again. There was stillness for several seconds, then the monster rose onto a knee. With mounting horror, Heian saw the stumps of its arms had stopped bleeding and new appendages were rapidly extending from the stubs. The invader had won. With a deep sinking dread, Heian turned back to her original plan. There were still several hundred meters of hallways before the designated staircase; she needed to be there when that monster plowed through the site. A sudden tearing sound made her snap back around. The creature was struggling to get up, its own barrier was caving inwards right above the crimson orb. With a final crack, something burst through the creature’s shield and pinned it to the ground. The red sphere fractured in a spiderweb pattern on impact. Instantly, the immense form went limp. Heian continued to stare for a whole minute. This time it didn't get up again. 

…………….

Site Director Tallerin walked through the double doors as her bodyguards opened it for her. She had been on the other side of the site when the monster first gouged into her facility. Doctor Clef had taken down the nearest hallway at inhuman speeds before she could protest. After about thirty minutes, they had returned reporting to have neutralized the threat. The O5’s helicopter had inexplicably returned right on time; Clef had boraded and left without another word. That was three hours ago. Now looking over the commons area, the entire atrium had been converted into a field hospital with medical staff treating everything from minor burns to lost limbs. 

Tallerin grimaced. The casualties were in the hundreds, with an entire battalion of the Foundations best troops vaporized in an instant and even more injured by falling debris. The repair costs were also going to be monstrous, the destroyed wing had contained some of the Foundation’s latest technology. In addition to all of that, her mind was focused on the gargantuan corpse that was now rotting on her front lawn. Just one those limbs would have usually demanded the assignment of an entire research team, but with so many of her best people either dead or in recuperation, Tallerin needed to conserve her human resources. She decided to leave the clean up to the MTF’s, but she needed a researcher to make sure the security force did not throw anything valuable into the incinerator. 

She scrolled through the list of personnel on her phone. Of those that could still work, her eye landed on one Junior Researcher Heian. A memory flashed in Tallerin’s mind as she remembered how the young scientist had barged into her office looking for approval to open up SCP 6079. Tallerin opened her file. The junior researcher had been employed at the foundation for four years, and had been research assistant on quite a few safe class anomalies. However it was her experience working on large humanoid entities that caught the site director’s eye. SCP 6079 was remarkably similar to the unknown attacker and the more Tallerin thought about it, the more she realized that this easily excitable young scientist would fit the bill. 

Satisfied with her choice, Tallerin marked “Salvage Team, Research Lead” as Heian’s next assignment, SCP 6079 could wait. Surveying the room, she turned around and headed back towards her office, the doors slamming behind her. 

The site director left her personal security outside her office as she opened the hidden door again. Sitting down in front of the monitor, the screen immediately opened to a conference call.

“Site Director,” O5-6 spoke in the synthesized voice. “We should commend you for your handling of the situation and its aftermath.” 

“Indeed.” O5-8 agreed. “The fact that knowledge of Clef’s involvement and the nature of the weapon has been severely limited is a great service.” 

“Thank you councillors.” Tallerin replied curtly. She had done so according to orders, in the three hours since the incident, her bodyguards had gone around the site administering class A amnestics to anyone that might have been in Dr. Clef’s path. “What happens now?” she asked.

“The weapon has been safely returned to our possession.” O5-5 said. “The cleanup of the creature’s remains are to be given top priority.” 

Tallerin frowned. While the removal of anomalous remains on this scale were important, the rebuilding of the site or restaffing her facility should have been the most important thing.

“There are a myriad of Groups of Interest that would gladly start a world war over that corpse.” O5-8 explained. “The quicker the remains are disposed of, the less danger there is of being attacked again.”

“Of course.” Tallerin replied. “I will do as the Council deems fit.”

As if sensing her concerns, O5-6 spoke up. “Your site will be adequately funded to ensure a speedy recovery to full operation.” 

Tallerin nodded.

“You will be notified again if the situation changes; your work has been satisfactory to the council thus far, make sure it stays that way.” With that final warning, the monitor blinked off.

Standing up Tallerin hurriedly walked out the claustrophobic chamber. 

…………….

Heian slowly walked down the now-empty hallway back towards the SCP 6079 containment chamber. The medics had found her on the stairwell slowly going down to the ground floor. After a quick check, they had given her some water and pain killers for the bruise. Heian heard a quiet shaking sound and turned her head. The hallway was largely empty, except for a few people returning to their offices like herself. As she surveyed her surroundings, she realized that the noise was coming for herself. Her hand was trembling so much that the bottle of pills had become a rattle in her palm. Clamping her other hand over it, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She had heard horror stories about massive containment breaches: elite MTF teams torn apart like tissue paper, monsters prowling every hallway, entire sites turned into the deepest pits of hell. Now she had also seen an anomaly on a rampage, and she couldn’t get the image out of her head. She shivered even more thinking about how easily she could have died, crushed by rubble, smashed by a falling elevator, blasted by a stray attack from the monster. She thought about how easily even some anomalies could have been killed. Her eyes widened. SCP 6079-1, she had forgotten about the child when the alarms went off. She cursed herself for being distracted from her duty. Ignoring her aching body, she broke into a sprint towards the cell. Heian had already guessed the truth before she had flipped on the first camera. The cell was empty. The rest of the video feeds showed the same thing, four blank walls and some furniture, the pressure sensors confirmed that SCP 6079-1 was also not hiding under the bed. Panking, she rewound the footage. As motion reappeared on the frames, Heian slowed it down. Captain Brigetson had come in, cuffed the anomaly and taken it with her. The evacuation order! Heian thought with a start. Brigetson would know where the child would have been taken. Reaching for the phone she entered in the Captain’s number. 

Brigetson answered with a croaking voice.  
“Hello? Captain Brigetson speaking.”

Brigetson? It’s me Heian, where is SCP 6079-1, the child?” Heian desperately asked.

Her eyes widened as Brigetson gave the answer. Dropping the phone, Heian sprinted out of the room again towards the direction of the anomalous medical hall. 

Heian nearly broke down the door as she rushed into the waiting room. Instantly her eyes found Captain Brigetson reclining on a chair. Her shirt was soaked with sweat and caked in blood. She was staring down at her lap and body combat gear was nowhere to be seen. Her right arm had been put into a pale blue sling that matched her hair which was now partially covered by a wrapping of gauze bandages. 

Heian rushed over. “Brigetson! Are you alright!” she asked.

The captain swallowed and breathed a pained sigh.  
“I’ll live.” She breathed out. “A few bruised ribs, concussion, a broken arm, that’s the worst of it.” 

Seeing that the captain wasn't in the condition for an extended conversation, Heian cut to the point. 

“How’s the skip?” she asked. 

“It’s in room 23; stable condition.” The captain muttered quietly. 

Heian stood up and flagged down a medic. 

“I’m looking for SCP 6079-1, looks like a child in their early teens.” The surgeon looked blankly at Heian for a moment. “Brownish black hair, Y chromosomal exclusive? I’m the head researcher on that anomaly.”

A look of recognition appeared in the physician’s eyes and she ducked into her office returning with a clipboard.

“Yes, SCP 6079-1 admited by Site Security, about three hours ago. Unconscious with a skull fracture and concussion.”

Heian was shown into the office where a camera feed showed room 23. The room was almost identical to the regular containment chamber, but with much more medical equipment, most of which was currently connected to the unconscious body of SCP 6079-1. “Standard procedure for humanoid anomalies is containment in medical until a full recovery.” The medic explained. 

But Heian wasn’t listening anymore. It was alive. She had dodged a bullet. The Junior researcher let a wave of relief run through her body and let out a deep, pent up sigh. 

…………….

The mind found itself in darkness again, but this time it knew who it was. It knew the name Shinji Ikari and it was aware of the passage of time. Slowly it reasoned that it must have been unconscious.

“Where- where am I?” Shinji wondered.

As if to answer his question a human figure appeared in front him, out the inky blackness. Shinji found himself staring at Rei Ayanami, the real Rei Ayanami.

“Shinji Ikari.” She said in her monotone voice.

Shinji stared intently at the girl floating in the void. After a long silence, he answered.

“Rei, is that really you?” He called out into the darkness.

“Yes, I am the one you called Rei Ayanami.” The apparition replied flatly. 

“Is….is this real?” Shinji asked. 

“This is your mind,” Rei replied. “We are in your heart, surrounded by your thoughts.”

Shinji thought about his situation for a moment. “Can I get home?” Shinji probed. 

The blue haired girl nodded. “Find the piece of me in this world. Remove the spear, then I will be able to take you back.”

Realization flashed in Shinji’s mind. 

“The spear-! I saw Kaworu with it! Where is he?” 

“No.” Rei countered. “Tabris no longer has it. The spear has been hidden away by the council.” 

“SEELE?!” Shinji asked in disbelief. “Are they the ones behind this?”

“No” Rei countered again. “SEELE was one instance of a group that tried to change fate in your previous world. But in every world there are similar people who would seek to do the same.”

Shinji looked down, away Rei’s unblinking gaze. He had fallen out of the grand conspiracy of his world, just to land right in the middle of another game of shadows. 

“Find the piece of me, and remove the spear.” Rei repeated. When Shinji looked up again, she was gone, leaving him alone in the darkness. 

…………….

A low grinding sound filled the darkened hall as the elevator car descended. A airtight mechanical lock disengaged and path lights flickered on, outlining a walkway between two glass walls. The blast doors withdrew and O5-2 stepped out of the bright elevator. She hadn’t been at Site 01 all day, instead she had been here, to secure the package herself. The overseer walked quickly down the hall until she arrived at the mid point. There was a flash, and the glass was illuminated by a dull orange glow, revealing the walls to be the sides of massive tanks. Suspended in the fluid were countless bodies ranging in size from near microscopic embryos to fully grown adults. Reacting to the light, the nearest figure tilted its blue-haired head upwards; it gazed at O5-2 with a wide vacant smile, and empty scarlet eyes. The overseer replied with a sneer and turned back to the narrow path, ignoring the sounds made by the soulless shells.  
The hallway ended in a vast circular chamber surrounded by more tanks. O5-2 hurried towards the center and stepped into another tube like elevator. After a slight pause, she felt her stomach lurch as the capsule shot downwards even deeper into the facility. 

Suddenly, the dark surroundings of the elevator shaft gave way to a massive atrium. The hollow cavern was a few kilometers wide, and even deeper. Yet, a singular object took up most of the volume. It had already shrunk greatly compared to when it was first discovered, but the enormous head was still far too large to fit in a regular containment site. O5-2 grimaced as she noticed the new, pale flesh already taking hold on the bleached bone. There was even an eye beginning to form again in the single hollow socket of the bisected skull, its red iris staring blankly towards nothing. O5-2 tapped her foot, willing the elevator that was already descending at over a hundred miles an hour, to go even faster. After more than a quarter hour, the capsule slowed to a halt on top of a pristine metal platform. Surrounding the island was a sea of orange ichor, slowly leaking from the severed spine of the gargantuan skull. O5-2 walked to the other end of the platform and stepped forward into the air as a set of ascending staircases rose out of the lake to catch her foot. The stairs brought her to the very bottom of the looming chin, her face shadowed by the mountain of a carcass. Silently O5-2 lifted a hand, revealing the compressed form of the Spear of Longinus. Bringing the tightly wound cylinder up to the otherworldly bone, it instantly lengthened into a two pronged javelin. With a shout, O5-2 drove the weapon into the chin. There was a pause, then the spear erupted into a myriad of tendrils, spreading underneath the skin and bone of the massive cranium like uncountable new veins. 

The flesh instantly withered from the bisected face. All across the titanous form, soft tissue receded back into bone. The singular eye deflated and shrunk as well until all that was left was a pristine half-skull the size of a mountain. Nodding in satisfaction, O5-2 turned away and strode back to her elevator to begin the long ride back up. 

Far away in the distance, standing on seemingly nothing at all, a short haired girl in a blue and white school uniform silently watched.


	4. Divine Flesh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the Foundation clean up in the aftermath of the Sachiel attack, Researcher Heian begins to suspect a deeper connection between the angels and the Evangelion unit in containment. As the angel attacks intensify, another shadowy player shows their hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, exams have been pretty bad these past weeks. I will try to post as frequently as I can.

A soft breeze blew across blades of new grass. Junior Researcher Heian pushed a strand of sky blue hair out of her face and walked towards the large dome that had been built on the grassy slopes facing Site 47. The sun was shining brightly for the first time in weeks, and Heian enjoyed the opportunity to get some fresh air. Stepping into the armored dome, she made her way through security before arriving at the heart of the structure. In the two weeks since the incident, D class and MTF soldiers had worked around the clock to dismember the massive corpse and transport its entrails into the facility for further study. Looking down at the work area, Heian saw that only one piece of the creature was left, the glistening red sphere. 

In fact, it was because of this mysterious red organ that Heian had come in early. They were finally going to be going to be dissecting this orb, seemingly the source of the creature’s power. Strolling slowly down a set of stairs, she walked up next to the huge object to examine it more. The surface of the organ was like glass or acrylic, with cracks running across it in intersecting spiderweb patterns. On the very top were two deep puncture marks, where something had killed the rampaging monster. The administration had been characteristically secretive about what finally brought down the creature, all video of the event was redacted, expunged, or locked in deep storage, and even several members of site personnel had been amnesticized. 

Heian shook herself back to the project at hand. Over the last fourteen days, a picture of the creature’s anatomy had begun to form as pieces of it had been removed and examined.  
All of the flesh, bone and blood had incredible regenerative properties, able to consume enormous amounts of energy to heal damage. Some of this tissue displayed the even stranger ability to instantaneously convert itself into pure energy, explaining the powerful attacks the creature was able to output. Still all of these explanations were useless unless they could understand where all that energy came from. That source was the red sphere, the only organ remaining. Heian’s colleagues had made guesses and hypotheses over the last two weeks as to what was hidden inside the orb, but as with all anomalies, Heian’s guess was that it was something outside of standard explanation. 

She had returned to her temporary work station when the dissection team arrived. Several MTF soldiers immediately began to cut into the cracked organ with plasma torches and power tools. After about fifteen minutes, Heian heard a distinctive cracking sound and rushed back over to the ledge. As she watched, the cutting team stood back as the sphere gave way, falling apart in two halves onto the ground. The center of the sphere was more fleshy unlike the brittle exterior. Situated directly in the middle, was a neatly bisected double helix, a super solenoid. Aside from the cut of the torches, there were two holes bored into the twin strands that line up perfectly with the puncture wounds on the surface of the organ. Everyone in the dome paused as they all seemed to recognize its significance, that was the power source. Heian’s mind suddenly flashed to a realization, was SCP 6079 the same thing as this creature? SCP 6079 also had a very similar organ on its abdomen. Aside from the mechanical augmentations, the two organisms were incredibly similar; the dissected beast also had inexplicably human DNA. The more Heian thought about it, the more the pieces fit together. 

Was this why the child had refused to tell her what SCP 6079 had been cloned from? But if SCP-6079 also had an energy producing organ like this one, why was it designed with an external power connector? What did the rest of the implants do? How did a child operate such a complex weapon? WHY was a child operating such a complex weapon? And why were all these things from some other universe, now leaking into her world? The questions that had been lurking at the back of her mind for the past few weeks finally burst through. Heian’s head spun, she was no longer looking at the dissection. There was something big happening here. Heian rushed back to her desk to begin structuring her new investigation. An hour later, when the two halves of the red sphere had finally been cleared away, Heian had all of the research on the creature compiled. Now she needed to get back to SCP-6079 as quickly as possible. 

………..

Shinji sat in his bed fidgeting at a digital music player. It had been nearly a month since the battle, most of which he had spent bedridden as his bones healed. After he had gotten well enough, he was immediately shipped back to his old cell in cuffs. He had soon been informed that he was allowed to make personal requests which he immediately used to acquire a music player. He had also quickly learned that this world didn’t have any of the songs he cherished. Still he had managed to put together a few tunes he found soothing to pass the time. He was also told that there were going to be more interviews, many, many more. Apparently his knowledge of the angel attack made him a top priority for his captors. The first interview had been scheduled for today. 

Right on time, at 10:00 am, the door made its now familiar hissing sound and the same woman,researcher Heian, stepped into the room. Her hair had grown longer since he had seen her last, making her look less like Shinji’s memory of Rei, and her lab coat had changed from white to a light gray. 

“Good morning SCP 6079-1, How are you feeling this morning?” She asked, taking a seat at the bolted plastic chair. 

“I’m good.” Shinji said with a faint smile. The statement wasn't entirely a formality; since his encounter with Kaworu, Shinji had begun to feel that his situation was not hopeless after all. There was still someone in the world who knew him and loved him. He felt an electric tingle as he remembered the kiss Kaworu had given him. 

Plus, if what Rei had said to him in that coma had been true, then perhaps he wasn’t stranded in this world after all. “Alright.” Researcher Heian said. “We will start with the so-called ‘angels’.” pulling out the recorder again.

“Uhm, what do you want to know?” Shinji responded. 

“How many of these creatures are there?” The researcher began. Shinji took a pause to mentally count. He stopped when he got to the seventeenth; Kaworu wasn’t like the other monsters. He was human, he cared about Shinji, he had saved his life! Kaworu was a person that deserved to live. A memory flashed in his mind, Kaworu smiling in the fist of unit 01. He shivered as the vision faded. Shinji would not repeat what happened last time, Kaworu would not be hunted down and killed by the same “SCP Foundation '' he apparently now worked for. Shinji was also skeptical about the intentions of this ‘Foundation’. After the catastrophe of third impact he had no intention of becoming another pawn to a shadowy conspiracy. 

“Sixteen, including the one that attacked the site.” Shinji said finally.

Heian looked surprised. “So these creatures are not a large population?” she probed.

“No.” Shinji responded. “There are only sixteen, they were all destroyed in my world.” 

The scientist furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips as if thinking about something. “And do they all look like that one?” she asked after a long pause. 

Shinji shook his head.“They’re all very different, most of them aren’t humanoid.” He answered. 

“Is there a consistent method for destroying them?” The scientist asked.

“Yeah, uhm most of them have a red ball somewhere on their body.” Shinji explained. “That’s the core, if it gets broken the angel dies.” 

Researcher Heian scribbled down some more notes. “During the attack of this ‘angel’, multiple heavy weapons were used against the entity with no effect, Observations indicate that it projected some kind of energy shielding. Do you know how to overcome these defenses?” Heian pressed.

“That’s an AT field.” Shinji said quietly. “Only another AT field can break through.” (And the spear…) he thought silently. 

“And I presume your weapon was capable of generating such a field?” Heian pressed. 

Shinji looked puzzled for a second before realizing that she was referring to Unit-01.  
“Uhm, yeah.” Shinji affirmed. “Evangelions can generate their own AT fields.”

“I’m beginning to see why such weapons were needed.” She scribbled down a few more things.

“Speaking of which,” She said as she looked back up. “We have noticed many similarities between your ‘Evangelion’ and the creature that attacked this site, What exactly is the connection between them?”

Shinji fidgeted and looked down. “I was just a pilot.” He excused. “They never told us much about what the Eva’s actually were, we were just told to how to use them- I don't know anything about how they were mad-” 

“But you must have noticed the similarities yourself right?” The scientist interrupted. “You must have come to some conclusion yourself?” 

Sweat beaded up on Shinji’s forehead. He had learned to recognize some of the subtler interrogation methods during his time at NERV. She was pressuring him, trying to get him to say anything related to what she wanted to know. He swallowed.

“Well, Doctor Akagi said that the Evas were somehow built from the angels-uh reverse engineered or something.” Shinji admitted. Given that they were presumably scrutinizing every square inch of Unit 01, his captors were probably going to find out the truth of Unit 01’s biology. Better he admit it than being marked as uncooperative. He knew what that kind of designation meant to organizations like these. Still there were other secrets about Unit 01 that the ‘SCP Foundation’ would probably never find. 

“I see.” Heian replied. “Can you provide any more details about its operation?”

Shinji sighed and began to rattle off what he recalled from the heavy pilot manual NERV had handed to him after his first encounter with Sachiel. He had never read the thing in its entirety, but combining that with his own experience in the entry plug, Shinji was surprised that he was able to give a very rough outline of basic Eva operation. 

At the end of his spiel, the researcher thanked him, got up with her things and left the room.   
Shinji let his head drop. He still had a chance to see his world again, he reminded himself. But that hope seemed far indeed. He spent a long time looking at the patterns of the sheets.

…………….

Researcher Heian eagerly strode through the double doors, back into the command center. Outside the window, SCP 6079’s frame had been turned around, and small sections of purple armor had already been removed. Heian took up her spot on the table and opened up her files. The interview with the child had confirmed her suspicions. This supposed super weapon and that creature were nearly identical. Pushing her notes to one side, Heian pulled up the file for SCP-6079 and opened up the technical addendum. In a separate window, she opened up her preliminary report on the “angel’s” biology. According to the child, there would be more of these attacks, and she would need to understand how they had been bested before. She needed to know how SCP-6079’s world had managed to reverse engineer these monsters. To understand that, she would first need to see what differences there were between the “natural” creature and its artificial counterpart. Scanning through both documents, Heian focused on the mechanical augmentations. 

When she had looked at the document before, she had struggled to make sense of the purpose behind many of the implants, but now with a base specimen to compare to, many of their functions became clear. The attacking monster was not a perfect analogue to the cyborg. Despite both having recognizably human DNA, each had radically different genotypes. Still, she was able to gleen much insight. The shoulder mechanism was no doubt a neural interface, allowing the pilot to somehow operate such a body as if it were their own. She also hypothesized that the battery system was a backup power source. In the event the so-called core was damaged, SCP-6079 would still be able to continue combat for a few additional minutes. But that still didn't explain the prominent power ports on the armor, surely they were not sent into combat on tethers. 

Heian began to compile these ideas into a new report, one that she would have her team follow up on. Heian finished her initial scan and began to reread the documents more thoroughly. As she did so, a design irregularity began to stand out to her. 

Much of the armor that was tightly affixed to the frame of SCP-6079 was protective in nature. She could make out heat shielding, kinetic barriers, and layers of shock absorbers. Yet, many key pieces seemed to hamper SCP-6079’s capabilities as a weapon rather than enhance them. These plates anchored deep into the flesh and seemed to hinder the motion of major muscle groups; they acted as locks on several key joints and some even had complex devices embedded into them. Heian suspected that these also functioned to limit SCP-6079’s capabilities. In fact, the more she read these files, the more confused she became. 

Why would someone go through all the painstaking work to build this weapon, only to handicap it? In fact, given the regenerative capabilities of the “angel” and its energy shield, Heian doubted if such a creature even needed conventional armor at all. Still, there was testimonial evidence that this weapon could do its job. Heian shivered, remembering her close encounter with the destruction that rampaging creature had caused. If there were indeed more of those things The Foundation- no, the world needed that weapon back online as soon as possible. Leaning into the dim glow of her monitor,Heian began typing a new project proposal. 

………..

The full moon rose slowly over the wooded foothills. The sounds of wildlife echoed through the valleys. Then a massive shadow blocked out the moonlight and silenced the hills. The great silhouette glided silently over the landscape, never changing altitude. It crested peak after peak as it moved in a straight, unchanging course. Its triangular head noiselessly split the air in front of it, allowing the rest of its massive bulk to move without disturbing the air. Even the writhing of its rib like legs made no sound. On a distant cliff, a group of figures watched as Shamshel, The Lonely Conqueror of God made its journey through the sky. The people on the cliff all wore dark cloaks, their faces obscured by hoods, veils, or masks. The leading member stepped forwards as the angel approached their peak. Reaching up to their face, they removed the purple, seven eyed mask, revealing a vicious and scarred face. Their hair fluttered messily behind them like an azure mane and their red eyes almost seemed to glow as they stared at the angel. She glared at it like a predator stalking its prey. After a wordless moment, the leader turned and hissed at her followers in a voice that wasn't very human.“Bring up the titan!”

Several figures bowed and ran back down the slope. There was a short pause before the ground began to shake. The rest of the group stood still and turned to watch, as a towering giant slowly marched up the hill side. Its head was white and whale like, with a crimson lipped jaw wrapping around most of it. Its body was mostly a rusty maroon, with sections of white skin on its limbs and torso. It walked with a hunched gait, its arms swinging at its ankles. Between its shoulders was a bony protrusion that pushed out from under its flesh. The titan slowly made its way to the pinnacle of the cliff and stopped. Shamshel did not change its course to intercept the new arrival, instead it continued on its path which would carry it right past the cliff. 

The leader let a smile creep across her face.   
“Today!” She announced to her gathered followers, “We strike a blow against the cruel beings that have shackled humanity for eons! Today, we strike at the Demiurge itself!” 

A cheer went up from the small crowd below, as the numerous masked figures rejoiced at the declaration.

“It always amazes me how resourceful you Lilin are.” A soft, but clear voice drifted across the assembly from behind them. There were gasps of shock and shouts of anger as the gathering turned to see a lanky, silver haired figure step out from the shadowed forest and into the moonlight. 

Kaworu surveyed the characters gathered in front of him, most still had their faces obscured, but from their body language, he could tell that all of them were terrified, all except the leader. With a series of swift strides, she marched through the gathering and directly up to him until she stood right in front of his face, glaring down at him.

“You have no power here Archon!” she hissed again. Then she turned and gestured at the towering giant. “The very flesh of your kind serves us now!” 

Kaworu glanced up at the so-called titan. Examining the features, Kaworu recognized it as a crude copy of one of SEELE’s mass production Evangelion units. Although it had no mechanical implants, Kaworu knew that if he flew up and ripped open the bony cap on the thing’s shoulders, he would find a soulless clone of himself staring back at him. 

“It’s a marvel of human ingenuity.” He responded. 

The scarred leader smiled, revealing two rows of pointed fangs. 

“Do not fear!” she turned to her followers. “This angel cannot harm us!”

She looked back at Kaworu and lowered her voice. “Now you will watch as we destroy your kin!” she hissed with venom.

As if on command, the titan stirred to life. It brought its arms down to the earth and crouched down, preparing to leap at Shamshel. The leader raised an arm high above her head, and then brought it sharply down. In an instant the titan sprung from the cliff with a mighty roar, sending a shockwave that bent the forest around them. Kaworu watched as its arcing path collided with the flying Shamshel, sending angel and Eva alike crashing to the valley floor. There was a purple flash, and Shamshel was upright, its two whips were now active and blazing with dangerous energy. The Eva seemed undeterred however and charged straight at its enemy.  
The angel arced its back and lashed out. The familiar sound of an AT field rang out, and the titan skidded back several hundred meters as its shield flickered in front of it. Seeing an advantage, the angel pressed forwards. Its lower body flattened the trees around it and it began to swing its weapons into an intricate and deadly arc. Kaworu noticed that the titan was not charging its adversary again. Instead it ducked low to avoid the slashing tendrils and weaved between the angel’s attacks. 

Noticing this, Shamshel lashed out with both whips, wrapping them around the Evangelion’s hips and raising it high above the ground. The pale figure struggled but its limbs were also tightly bound. With one sharp motion, Shamshel jerked its whips in opposite directions and the titan fell to the ground missing half a leg. The lost limb was instead thrown through the air and crashed into a far away slope. For a moment the entire gathering held its breath. Even Kaworu grimaced. Sensing victory, Shamshel closed in for the kill. Slowly the titan pulled its head and torso up from the crushed trees. Shamsel was already on top of it and drove its tendrils dowards like spears. An AT field rang out and Kaworu saw that the titan had grabbed its enemy’s weapons, its own octagonal barrier shielding its hands from the violent energies. The Evangelion looked up and then rose to a knee, then it put its other foot on the ground again.  
Kaworu’s eyes went wide as he realized that the titan had regenerated its entire lower leg. It could only be from an S2 engine. Straining against the downward force, the Evangelion rose to its feet again. Shamshel struggled to free its weapons, but it was no use. The titan opened its jaw, and in a flash it jerked its hands behind itself, pulling the angel directly towards it. The thunderous crash of colliding AT fields rang out. Then, as the angel’s barrier was corroded away, the titan pushed its own head through the hole in Shamshel’s barrier, and bit down on the triangular head. Shamshel flailed its whips wildly and freed them from its opponents grasp. The titan now brought its hands up through the rapidly disintegrating energy barrier and grabbed onto Shamshel.

Kaworu could hear a tearing sound as the titan bit deeper into the angel, and began to pull its head away. Then, the Evangelion’s head jerked back, with a piece of the angel in its maw. 

Kaworu knew that such superficial damage meant nothing to an angel, and Shamshel seemed unfazed, as it quickly drove its whips through the back of its attacker. The tendrils punched through the underside of the titan and wrapped around its waist. The Eva clawed rabidly at the air as it was once again lifted high above the angel. 

Kaworu turned to the robbed figure expecting to see a grimace, but instead the leader was intently watching the battle unfold, her smile wider than ever. 

As the Eva was lifted to the full length of Shamshel’s whips, it spread its arms and legs out. Kaworu saw a growing shimmer behind it. Layers upon layers of an AT field were coiling up like a spring. Suddenly there was an earsplitting bang, and the compressed AT field unraveled behind the Eva. In a flash the titan shot downwards, slamming into the angel. The two barriers collided, and shattered. The Eva instantly wrapped its limbs around Shamshel’s cylindrical body and clamped its jaws around the vulnerable core. 

Now it was the angel’s turn to panic, as a crack began to form on the pristine orb. The whips pulled taut and twisted around, desperately trying to dislodge the attacker. The plasma flared, trying to melt through the Eva's flesh, but the titan held on and kept biting. With a final crack, the angel’s core broke, and Shamshel instantly went limp, its energy whips darkening back to an inert form. 

There was silence for a moment, before the titan reared its head into the air and roared, followed by the crowd erupting in cheering. But the robbed figure did not cheer. She kept her head forwards, but began to speak. 

“Now you see Archon, that we have the power to destroy you.” The fanged leader gloated.

Kaworu did not speak.

“Now run along, and tell your masters, the jailors, that we are coming.” She continued. “ And tell them that when we find the head of the Demiurge, we’ll make sure that there is nothing left of her this time.”

Kaworu’s eyes went wide and he whipped his head around to look at the leader. She laughed.

“Oh yes Tabris! We know about the shard of the creator the council has hidden far away. You may have fooled them into seeing you as an ally, but I, WE know what your real purpose is.” She hissed the last words and narrowed her eyes. “So keep feeding them your lies, and keep slaying your brethren in their service, it will only make it easier for us when the time comes.”

Kaworu frowned. “I only have one purpose in this world.” he answered curtly. An image of Shinji’s smile appeared in his mind. 

The figure shook her head and slipped her mask back on.

“You can try to deny your nature, but you cannot change what has been set in motion.” Without another word, she walked back into the crowd of her followers, leaving the angel standing alone in the moonlight.


	5. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the revelation of a Sarkic cult possessing an Evangelion of their own, the O5 council calls upon the final messenger to accelerate the reactivation of Unit 01.

“UNACCEPTABLE!” O5-4’s digitized voice roared through the loudspeakers. “How could the Sarkics know this information?!” 

Kaworu winced at the councillor’s sudden outburst and uncrossed his legs. The room he found himself in was circular and composed entirely of white ceramic panels. He was sitting in a bare metal chair facing a wall of monitors, each displaying the designation of an overseer.  
Surrounding him several tall metallic pillars periodically pulsed with a pale blue light and hummed softly. He knew what they were: Scranton reality anchors, designed to nullify his powers. When he was encircled, they rendered him identical to any other lilin. They were a show of force towards the seventeenth angel, a reminder of who he was beholden to. 

“This Karcist does appear to be a large threat.” O5-8 agreed. “If what Clef says is true, then their possession of a fully functional ‘Evangelion’ unit puts them ahead of our own progress.”

“More pressing is the possibility of an attack directly on Site 2000!” O5-4 contested. “We are already stretched thin dealing with these angels, such an assault would be undefendable!” 

“The biggest problem is that we do not yet know of the motivation of these cultists.” O5-2 replied.

“They were successful in destroying Shamshel.” Kaworu spoke as he stood up. The bickering of the council faded. He scanned his eyes across each monitor and continued. “It appears that my siblings are scattered across every corner of this world, as such their direction of attack will be random.” He walked to the front of the perimeter. “Seeing that both we and the Sarkics wish to neutralize the threat from Adam’s children, we can depend on them to defend our western flank.” He proposed.

There was silence for a moment, before O5-6 spoke. “This is quite a gamble you are suggesting, Clef. What makes you so certain that these Sarkics will not attack now?”

“The Sarkics do not know of the location of Lilith’s remains.” Kaworu explained. “Their current proximity to Site-2000 is likely a coincidence. Additionally, their actions are bound by doctrine, they will assure the destruction of the angels first before seeking out Lilith.” 

“Clef makes a good point.” O5-8 commented. “Sarkic dogma is clear that the trials of the so-called Archons must be overcome first before the Demiurge can be subdued.”

“This only delays the confrontation!” O5-4 interjected. “Even if we believe these flesh cultists will politely wait until all the angels are defeated, we still do not have an answer to that titan!” 

“We have the spear” O5-8 retorted. “We will be able to defeat their titan when the time comes.” 

“But the spear is also the lynchpin in our other designs.” O5-2 mentioned. “I have seen what happens when it is removed from the skull for even a few hours.”

“That is precisely why we cannot be wasting any more time!” O5-4 asserted. “We must redouble our efforts towards reverse engineering SCP 6079! We need every scrap of technology we can possibly find!”

“I agree that this development has been a wake-up call.” O5-2 replied. “Given that we have an intact unit, the remains of one of those angels, and the willing aid of another one, we are in a better position than ever to accelerate our research.”

There was a pause. Even though Kaworu could not see any of their faces, he knew that the entire council had turned their focus onto him. 

“The council will deliberate in private.” O5-6 announced. Then the speakers went silent. 

Kaworu sighed and sat back down. Silently, he pondered his situation. He was Tabris, the angel of free will, yet no matter what world he was in, he somehow always found himself as a pawn of shadowy forces and moved around according to their plans. Sometimes he humorously wondered whether his title was actually meant to be ironic. Kaworu refocused his thoughts. He wasn't bound by fate, he had chosen to come here, to the SCP foundation. He had chosen to cooperate with the O5 council. He had chosen to participate in their designs. His current obligations were the result of his own choices, and he would need to see them through to the end, for Shinji’s sake.

The speakers flared to life with a crackle.

“The council has made its decision.” O5-2 declared. “Doctor Alto Clef, given your nature and experience you will be reassigned to site 47 to aid in the reactivation of SCP 6079 as well as transferring important research to site 01.”

“Of course.” Kaworu bowed. 

“You will be our eyes and ears inside of site 47. We want reports on all aspects of SCP 6079 and every piece of information on the inner workings of the anomaly. You are to do anything in your power to get that weapon online.”

“I understand.” Kaworu affirmed. He smiled internally at the thought of seeing Shinji again. 

“Very well.” O5-4 said. “Since we all agree that this arrangement is satisfactory, this meeting is adjourned.” With that the speakers cut out again and the screens blinked off. A short moment later, the Scranton reality anchors powered down and retracted into the floor. Kaworu walked to a small table by the door and retrieved his wide hat and long coat before walking out into the hallway. 

………..

Researcher Heian nervously tapped the glossy black table. It had been a few days since she had finished her project proposal and submitted it for approval. This morning administration had notified her that a decision had been made and that she would be meeting with the Site director that afternoon. Heian was initially ecstatic, a meeting with the director was proof that her proposal had at least gotten consideration. But upon further consideration, Heian realized that nothing about the message had said anything about approval. A sudden, private meeting with the director was probably not going to be good news, so for the last few hours she had been silently compiling a list of arguments she could use to defend her project. 

There was a click at the far end of the room and a guard pushed open the brushed metal door. Through it, stepped Site Director Tallerin in her three piece suit. The director held a bulging filing folder under her arm and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. Without looking at Heian, she sat down at the other end of the wide table. She took a long drink from her mug, and then brought her gaze up to the young researcher. 

“So.” The director began in a tired tone “Level 3 junior researcher Heian, project lead on SCP 6079, with a proposal to: ‘Reactivate the weaponized functions of SCP 6079 to Combat the Hostile Entities Known as ‘Angels’”

Tallerin shuffled some of the papers around. “Regarding the safety of your project, I have numerous concerns about cross testing of SCP’s, unproved procedures, and weaponization of anomalies.” The director continued. “I would reject this proposal immediately for its dependency on unverified testimony alone.” 

Heian opened her mouth to regurgitate the rebuttal she had been preparing, but Tallerin held up a hand.

“However, it seems that this decision is no longer up to me.” The older woman took the cover sheet out of the file and slid it across the smooth surface. 

Heian closed her mouth and looked down at the single sheet of paper. Then her jaw dropped onto the table again. Stamped at the top of the plain text sheet was a large, crimson, Foundation logo. Inscribed beneath were the words LEVEL 5 APPROVAL GRANTED.

“It seems this project was of utmost importance to someone with more authority.” Tallerin commented. 

Heian continued to stare at the red seal. This was from the Overseers, her small project was now the focus of the highest power in the entire Foundation, maybe even the world. Her mind raced with questions. How did the O5’s even know about her proposal?

“Since this matter is now out of my hands,” Director Tallerin bit back indignation. “I am obliged to fund this project to its fullest.” 

Researcher Heian nodded along dutifully, trying to hide her emotions. On one hand she was exhilarated that her first self led project had been given the go ahead, however now that the Overseers were involved, she was going to be under incredible scrutiny.

“On to the topic of staffing.” Tallerin declared and shuffled a few more papers in her file. “Given standard operating procedures, the project head has the final word in staffing their own project. However, given that this proposal is a continuation of existing SCP 6079 research, I propose that all current staff on SCP 6079 are simply reassigned to this project.”

Heian nodded along. “That seems like the best ma’am.” 

“However, there will be one new addition to your team.” The site director explained. “The O5 council approved your proposal on the condition that they embed an agent of their own into the project.”

Heian tilted her head slightly. It wasn’t unexpected that the O5’s would want to know everything about their new pet project, but Heian wondered what an agent could tell them that they couldn’t already know from surveillance footage or network backdoors.

“Dr Alto Clef will be assigned to your project as a research consultant and an external liaison.” Tallerin announced.

Heian continued to stare at The Site Director. There was a long, uncomfortable silence. 

“Do you have any credentials or a file of their work?” Heian finally asked.

Tallerin leaned forwards and narrowed her maroon eyes. “You...You’ve never heard of Doctor Alto Clef?” 

“No, should I?” Heian asked incredulously. Then she lowered her voice into a whisper. “Are they secretly an Overseer or something?”

Tallerin blinked, and then threw back her head in a laugh. “No, no! Nothing like that!” she composed herself. “But Doctor Clef is somewhat of a legend among senior staff.” Tallerin explained. “They are one of the Council’s key agents, usually dispatched when the O5’s have a difficult task they need completed right away.”

Heian nodded along, but realized that Tallerin scowled briefly when she said “difficult task”.

Tallerin paused and tapped a small screen on her side of the table. Heian noticed a blinking red light on the ceiling switch off. Suddenly the director’s neutral expression dropped and a look of deep concern came over her features. “Off the record” Tallerin continued. “The fact that the council has sent Clef to your project, means that they have designated the completion of this project as the number one priority. Clef and the overseers are now effectively in charge of this operation, do exactly as they say and let the Council get whatever they want or else... Well let’s just say there won't be any pleasant consequences for anyone at this site.”

Heian swallowed and solemnly nodded. Tallerin looked down and switched the recording equipment back on. 

“Now onto the details of budget…”  
Heian silently groaned and slumped in her chair. For all the threats from the council, there was still plenty of drudgery ahead. 

………..

Heian stepped out of the conference room an hour and a half later completely drained. Her head swam with the various new duties and obligations she now had to deal with as project head. Her notebook was now covered with various scribbles and reminders for herself. She was practically dragging her hands on the ground as she made her way back to the common area. She needed a break after that deluge of administrative sludge. Finding a couch that was unoccupied, she sat down, put her feet up, and immediately drifted into dreams. 

“Junior Researcher Heian please report to SCP 6079 containment chamber.” Heian jolted awake from her light sleep as the intercom above her head spat out the sharp declaration. Heian cursed at herself for falling asleep so easily and hurriedly pulled out her phone. She had only been there for 20 minutes. Sighing in relief she pulled herself up and jogged back towards light containment.

Heian rushed into the control room nearly out of breath. In the middle of the tiered chamber, Captain Brigetson was conversing with a strange character. They wore a long lab coat that seemed a few sizes too large, as well a ridiculously wide hat. A few tufts of silver hair poked out from underneath the sprawling brim. Brigetson looked up as the door opened and the stranger followed her gaze, turning their head around to face the junior researcher.  
“Hello Researcher! I am Doctor Alto Clef, I will be the liaison for the Overseer council on Project 6079.” They held out a slender hand. Heian blinked a few times in disbelief before walking over and shaking it. She had expected that Doctor Clef would be some hardened, imposing, machine like character, but the person standing in front of her looked like a child!

“So, I presume you will be taking over the direction from here?” Heian tested. She wanted to see what the “legend” was really like. 

“No, nothing that extreme.” The newcomer answered in a soft, collected tone. “The council merely has a particular interest in some of the potential results of your project. I’m here to relay your findings, and make sure that your team progresses smoothly.”

“Alright.” Heian answered back. She still wasn't sure what Clef’s angle was, so she decided to play along. “I suppose you’re going to want a tour of your working area.”

“Already done.” Brigetson spoke up. “I already took them around the 6079 containemnt bay and engineering laboratories.”

Heian slowly nodded. She racked her brain for anything she could remember from her meeting with the site director. She still wanted to see what Clef was like.

“Well.” she slowly began. “Since you are already here, you wouldn’t mind being consulted about research, I’ve heard that you have quite the extensive background in anomalous biology.”

It was a bluff, Heian had absolutely no clue as to what Dr. Clef was an expert in, but she suspected that anyone assigned to a cybernetic anomaly would at least have some knowledge of biology. 

“I would be glad to!” Clef smiled.  
Walking over to a workstation, Heian entered in her credentials and pulled up a lengthy document.  
“My current findings show that SCP 6079 has a fully functional power system.” Heian pointed towards the compiled data. “All of the controls appear to be intact as well, however, SCP 6079 will not activate, no matter what inputs we give it.” Heian turned to look at Clef. The Doctor stroked their chin thoughtfully. 

“Perhaps,” Clef spoke very slowly. “It does not want to awaken for you.” 

Heian shook her head. “There's been no brain activity since its discovery, it couldn't be making decision-”

“Not the brain.” Clef interrupted. “The heart.”

Heian looked at the silver haired doctor with a puzzled expression, then her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. 

“You mean… The core.” 

Clef’s smile grew wider. 

“Ther- There's a mind inside the core?” Heian asked. “But how? The core is inert, it's just a power source!” 

Clef closed their eyes and pulled out a slim phone from their coat pocket. Silently, they set it down onto the table in front of the junior researcher. 

“If you will excuse me, I have to make my report to the site director.” Clef announced and walked up the stairs. “Return the phone when you see me next time, I trust you will keep it safe.” With that the door closed behind the long coat.

“I tell you,” Brigetson began as soon as the door locked. “With all the anomalies I've seen, the people the O5 council keep around are stranger than all of them.”

“Yeah.” Heian absentmindedly answered. Her attention was completely focused on the small screen in front of her. The document that was looking up at her was definitely above her clearance level.

“What’d they give you?” Brigetson looked down over Heian’s shoulder. 

“I..I’m not sure.” Heian tentatively replied as she scrolled past the large O5 warning at the top. “But this...this is top secret.”

Brigetson squinted at the small text of the warning. “Well, a representative of the Overseer council personally showed you this document, going by what I remember from RAISA training, I'd say that counts as clearance granted.” Brigetson encouraged. 

Carefully picking up the phone, Heian continued. Below the large, red warnings was the title of the document. “ Dämmerung Anomalies: Sheldon class and other soul traps”. 

Heian’s eyes widened at the words. “I-I’m gonna need to note this.” She said in a low tone as she pulled out a notebook and pen. Birgetson nodded and turned away, realizing the gravity of the situation. “I have to go monitor the 6079 repair teams.” The Captain made a loud excuse towards any microphones and quickly headed out of the control room. Looking around, Heian saw that the chamber was now deserted, she was alone with this most secret of documents. Without wasting another second, she picked up the phone and began to read. 

Slowly the minutes passed into hours, the simulated daylight lamps slowly dimmed and the whirring of heavy machinery in the containment bay slowly stopped, Heian was still transcribing the document. The information divulged had made her head spin. Extensive parts of the document had been expunged for cognitohazards and even more had been redacted for sensitive information, but she was still able to get enough of a picture to understand. 

Apparently several decades ago, an O5 council member had died and been resurrected by the rest of the council with an anomaly. Upon their rebirth, the overseer had recounted a terrifying ordeal of being aware and trapped in their own decaying body for several weeks. The specifics of their account were omitted as cognitohazedrous. The ultimate fate of the O5 was, of course, removed. But it was eventually discovered that a combination of the O5’s personal anomalous modifications and method of resurrection had retroactively caused them to undergo this hellish experience. Furthermore, the exact retelling of the events were enough to induce a similar experience upon the death of others. This would be the first documented occurrence of a Sheldon class soul trap, an anomaly capable of holding a consciousness against its will, forcing the mind to be aware at all times. Over the years, the Foundation had encountered variations of these “soul traps”. Some were more akin to stasis, putting the consciousness inside into a comatose state. While others were simply like being transferred into a new body, where the mind inside had more or less full control over their new vessel. 

Heian’s hand trembled as she finished transcribing the document. Her whole arm ached, but even more the revelations about the nature of the soul and mind were earth shattering.  
If the ‘core’ in SCP 6079 was a kind of soul trap, then whose soul did it contain? Did they have a way to make it cooperate? If the O5 council knew these deep secrets, what had they been doing with them? Heian pocketed the phone and walked to the large windows overlooking the containment bay. Multiple sections of the purple and green armor had been removed and refitted with white and grey plates displaying the Foundation logo on their surface. From looking at the initial reports of the reconstruction the engineering teams had replaced all the restraints with actual beneficial armor and actuators. There had also been some internal rewiring, with the core now supplying bio-electric energy directly to all organic and mechanical components, there was now no need for an external power source. Still, with all of their augmentations, Heian’s team had done their best to avoid touching any systems that they could not decipher, most of the functions of the organic components were untouched. But perhaps they had overlooked one key component. Every weapon needed a wielder, and the previous wielder was sitting in a cell a few hundred meters away. Perhaps there was a reason that a child had been chosen to pilot such a superweapon. If the soul inside SCP 6079 only worked with that child- that is, if the document that Dr. Clef had given her wasn't a complete red herring- then she would oblige it. 

………..

Kaworu sighed contently and leaned back into his chair. The monitor in front of him showed the surveillance footage of the SCP 6079 control room. The junior researcher had finally finished what he assumed was deliberating whether to allow Shinji to come into contact with unit 01 again. Kaworu smiled as he flipped to another camera and saw the researcher walking towards humanoid containment. A notification beeped and Kaworu pulled out another phone. His access to the SCP 6079 files had been granted. He quickly opened up the folders and sorted through them. Finding the relevant documents, he sent them to the Overseer server. Kaworu checked his calendar. Events were progressing according to schedule, but there were several unknown factors, Most important of which was the soul formerly known as Lilith, Rei Ayanami. Kaworu still remembered how she had single handedly derailed both SEELE and Gendo Ikari’s plans for instrumentality. Even with her divine powers suppressed by the spear, Tabris could feel that his counterpart was still active in this world. He would need to ascertain her motives sooner rather than later. The sarkic sect that he had encountered also presented another un-controlled variable that the O5 council was very adamantly furious about. If the zealots succeeded in destroying Rei/Lilith’s body, then all would be lost. The council, of course, had contingencies. He only hoped that the information he had provided would allow them to move fast enough.

………..

Shinji sat quietly on a chair. In the past few days, he had requested a cello and some sheet music to practice from. But his first session had been less than successful. He hadn’t found the will inside him to really concentrate on the music and his mind kept wandering to the bigger questions he still had no answers to. His evening meal had been delivered and now he sat around waiting for lights out. To his surprise the red light above his cell door flashed and the familiar hiss of the pneumatic locks disengaging echoed into the room. Shinji looked over and recognized his interviewer, researcher Heian standing in the doorway. 

“Please,” Shinji started. “Can we do this interview tomorrow?” 

“This isn’t an interview.” the researcher replied. “SCP 6079-1, I have a proposition for you.”  
Shinji blinked at the frankness of the researcher’s tone.  
“Wh-what is it?” Shinji stuttered. 

“Are you willing to operate SCP 6079 again?” she pressed. 

It took Shinji a second to realize she was asking him to pilot Unit 01 again. 

His head spun. If the angels were coming back, unit 01 was probably the only thing that could hold them off. Sachiel had been defeated by Kaworu with the spear of Longinus, but Shinji had a feeling that the spear wouldn’t be a dependable weapon. But suddenly now that he was presented with the real opportunity to once again pilot Unit 01, all of the disasters that had befallen him in the entry plug rushed back. For the first time he was hit with the magnitude of the responsibility that was in front of him. If he accepted, he would have to defeat every angel alone. He would have no comrades in arms, no backup, and no help. Did these “SCP” people even know how to launch an Evangelion, or how to maintain it? Was it even possible for one Evangleion to defeat every angel? Would his mother still protect him? What if Yui was no longer inside unit 01 after instrumentality? Shinji opened his mouth to decline, but shut it immediately as another memory surfaced.

Kaworu’s promise. He would see Shinji again. Shinji wouldn’t be alone. More memories entered his mind. Running away never solved anything. Everytime Shinji ran, the fall out was worse than when he fought. The most brutal defeats came only when Shinji left his responsibilities. He looked back up at researcher Heian. He stared into her crimson eyes and spoke.

“Yes, I will do it.”

………..

There was darkness, then a dim orange light illuminated the massive tank. A single figure stirred and instinctually swam towards the surface. The body broke the surface and immediately coughed the thin, orange fluid from its lungs and breathed air for the first time. Hands wrapped around its limbs and pulled it from the pool. There was a blur of sights and sounds as the figure felt itself laid down and moved around. It blinked and tried to open its mouth, but no sounds came out. Eventually, it was lifted upright again and submerged into another bath of LCL. The enclosure was smaller this time and through the curved, clear walls, it could see several people staring back at it. It felt a growing tingling sensation along its back, before it fell into unconsciousness again. 

O5-2 silently watched as the body in the tank closed its eyes again. A moment later, a cloud of nano machines filtered into the liquid and began their work on the flesh. 

“This is the twelfth installment of the fourth archetype.” A technician beside her said. They gestured to the surrounding tanks and operating tables. “As you can see, all the organic augmentations have been accepted by the host bodies, the more...esoteric procedures have had some rejection, but I am pleased to report that the first complete specimen of each archetype will be ready within the next few days.”

O5-2 nodded and made her way to the large operating station at the center of the chamber. “ It seems that the research from SCP 6079 was the latchkey for all of this.” she commented.

“Yes councillor.” The technician replied. “The documents were crucial to filling in some rather unfortunate gaps in our knowledge.” She walked with the overseer to the table, then pressing a control switch, the protective shell was lifted off the surface.

The figure that laid on the table was tall, more than 2 meters from head to foot. The body was lean but muscular, and their hair had been close cropped into a blue fuzz on their head. Half of the figure was already covered in an intricate suit of dark battle armor that pierced into the body at certain spots. O5-2 surveyed the exposed skin which seemed to possess an erie iridescence, as if some energy were coursing right beneath it. In the center of the sternum, poking out from the pale flesh, was a small red sphere.  
She turned to the technician. “Does this mean that we are able to proceed?”  
The technician nodded. “Yes ma’am, Project Samsara is a success.”


	6. The Rumble of Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After many weeks of containment, The reactivation of Evangelion unit 01 is at hand. But without any preparations and no ammunition, Shinji is about to realize that the battle against the rest of the angels will be more difficult than before. Time is running out for everyone at site 47 before the storm arrives.

Shinji woke as his standard Foundation alarm clock blared out. His heart leapt as he remembered what day it was. Today was the first activation test (first for the SCP Foundation at least). Over the past week, the interviews had turned to more and more obscure and esoteric parts of the Evangelion, systems and functions that Shinji barely knew existed. Yet despite his flimsy answers, researcher Heian assured him progress was being made. They had some of the best experts on the project she said. 

He quickly scrambled out of bed, cleaned himself and got dressed. At exactly 10:30am, the door hissed open revealing researcher Heian and the guard captain. In her arms was a neatly folded orange suit and two plastic nodules.  
“These were designed according to your specifications, and our own research on your unit.” Heian explained. “They should function just as well as the old equipment you are used to.” She sat them down on a nearby chair. “ Knock when you’re ready.” The door shut quietly behind her. Shinji walked over to the chair and examined his new outfit. This plug suit was quite different from what he wore back in NERV. The texture of the material felt coarser than he remembered. The shoulders, chest, and pelvis areas all had more bulky pieces. The suit was mainly a bright orange, a color not unlike the accents on Asuka’s plugsuit. But unlike the appearance of unit 02, the secondary color of this new garb was a charcoal black. Large, bold letters were printed across the back: “SCP 6079-1”. The whole thing was strikingly similar to outfits of the D class personnel, whom Shinji had learned were drafted prisoners. Wasn’t that exactly what he was? Shinji realized. The Interface headset was likewise orange. Their shape was a bit off but the curve still hugged his skull comfortably. As he pressed the button pumping all the trapped air out of the suit, he wrapped his knuckles on the door. 

It was Shinji’s first time out of the cell since he recovered from his injuries, and as the guard captain escorted him through the winding corridors, Shinji was surprised at how calm things were now that the facility was not under attack. The clean, high tech corridors combined with the tight hug of the suit made him feel like he was back at NERV HQ. After a few minutes of walking and a long elevator ride downwards, they stopped at a heavily armored door. Shinji looked up at the plaque above the door and recognized the designation for Unit 01 “SCP 6079.” His captor swiped a keycard through a panel on the side and the door slowly opened. Stepping through, Shinji found himself inside a large loading bay. Cranes and powerful lights ran along the roof and large machinery dotted the edge of the room. As Shinji surveyed the space, his eyes landed on the center and his breath caught in his throat. The unmistakable form of Unit 01 rose from the bright white floor like a dark mountain. The angular head was propped up giving access to the entry plug which now rested on a raised platform behind the neck. Large pieces of armor had been exchanged for plates of white and grey, all displaying the circle and inward pointing arrows of the SCP Foundation. 

“Let’s go.” The captain ordered. Shinji complied and quickly moved to the base of an open freight elevator. There was a whirring sound and after a shaky ride, Shinji found himself staring at the entrance hatch to an entry plug once again. The numerous scientists working on the platform seemed to pay him no heed as they continued their work. Shinji quickly turned his gaze away from them; their identical blue hair and pale skin still made him uncomfortable. He quickly climbed into the cylinder and maneuvered himself into the seat. A small puddle of LCL remained at the far end of the plug reflecting the dim light filtering in through the open hatch. On his head rest a speaker activated.

“SCP 6079-1, how are you feeling?” a voice asked.

“I’m good.” Shinji reported. 

“Do you think you can still operate it?” it continued.

“Uhm, yeah. Although I’m not used to waiting in an empty entry plug.” He confessed. 

“We’re still working out some last minute bugs on our end.” the voice answered. “Please be patient.” Then the microphone switched off. 

Shinji let out a sigh. The interior of the entry plug had been untouched. Everything, even the NERV logos were still where he remembered them. Shinji smiled at the familiarity of everything. Despite being trapped in a different world, there was still a small corner of it that belonged to him. 

A soft beeping from the outside snapped him out of his contemplation.

“Sealing plug!” A voice called from outside. Immediately the inside of the entry plug brightened, as the ambient lighting activated. Shinji looked over just in time to see the hatch close and lock into place.  
“Inserting plug now.” called the voice over the radio. Shinji felt the whole capsule shift forwards before being stopped by something. Then there was another shift as the plug was pulled into the Evangelion’s spinal column.  
“We will start filling the plug with organic compound 6079, uh that's what you called LCL,” the radio informed Shinji. He gave an affirmative and immediately noticed the thin orange liquid flooding into his capsule. He inhaled as liquid covered his head, feeling the familiar sensation of his lungs filling with the breathable fluid. There was a muffled silence as the flow topped off.  
“Pilot vitals are stable, how are you feeling?” came the voice.  
“fine,” Shinji answered. “Uh- it feels the same as it did before.”  
“Good, initiating ionization of organic compound 6079,” the radio continued.  
Shinji watched as the fluid became transparent, and then…. Nothing. He had expected the vivid blur of colors and patterns that signaled synchronization, but instead he was staring at the metal wall of the entry plug.  
“Uhm, is-is there something wrong?” He tentatively asked into the radio.  
There was a distant conversation at the other end then someone approached the microphone.  
“There’s still no response to any signal,” the command center explained. “There's no power from the core, your unit is still inert.”  
Shinji’s heart dropped. So his mother wasn’t here anymore. There was no way the Evangelion would ever move again. A deep despair welled up in Shinji’s heart he let out a shaky stream of bubbles into the LCL and closed his eyes. The hope he had seemed to build up in the past month collapsed. Without the Evangelion he had no way to defeat the angels, this world was doomed. He drew in a sharp breath and let out a stifled sob as a single tear fell through the orange liquid around and into his lap.

Suddenly he felt something, a spark somewhere deep inside his heart.  
“Wait!” Came the radio. “Energy spike detected in the core!”  
“Limb power system output is increasing!” came another distant report.  
“Brain scans show an emerging pattern of consciousness!”  
Shinji blinked the tears from his eyes and looked up. In a second the dark walls of the plug were replaced by a rapidly shifting spectrum of color. Shinji slowly opened his mouth as countless points of light flew past his vision. Shinji felt a warm, comforting presence surround him as his synchronization rate peaked.  
“M-mother..” He croaked out as tears flowed freshly down his face. “I-I’m back…”  
A soothing affirmation replied inside his heart. “We-we’re going home.” Shinji whispered and let a smile spread across his face.  
“SCP 6079 -1, is everything alright, we’re reading a large spike in your vital signs.” The sound of an audible voice jolted Shinji from his emotional reunion.  
“Yeah,” he replied. “I’m ok.”  
“Roger,” came the reply. “Can you try standing up?”  
Shinji tilted his head upwards. The ceiling in the massive chamber was very high. Gripping the controls tighter, he planted the right palm onto the tiles of the loading bay and lifted the torso off the ground. Shinji was surprised at how easy it felt, he certainly didn't remember the massive mecha being so limber. Getting onto his feet, Shinji stood up. The legs were far more powerful than he anticipated and the massive cyborg stumbled forwards a few steps.  
“Whoa! Whoa!” a voice came over the radio. ”Stand down SCP 6079!”  
Shinji sucked in a breath of LCL through clenched teeth as he carefully put Unit 01’s feet back onto the ground. He had tried his best to avoid damaging equipment, but had still dented the floor with his heavy steps.  
“Sorry! Sorry!” Shinji cried. “I-its a bit more powerful than I remember!”  
“Yes,” the radio answered. “We’ve made some...improvements to your unit in the past few weeks. You should find articulation and strength to be improved, and we’ve managed to get your unit operating under its own internal power source indefinitely. As for the other functions...” The radio went dead for a few seconds before coming back.  
“Uh, I have been informed that you will find your AT field is able to operate at full power for extended periods of time, your healing speed is greatly accelerated, and that your synchronization rate is no longer restricted.”  
Shinji stretched Unit 01’s limbs and flexed the joints. It would take some getting used to, but he was thankful for the upgrades, most of all freedom from the fragile power cables.  
“SCP 6079-1, we would like to get some measurements of your performance, can you walk a few laps around the chamber?” Shinji affirmed and began to leisurely pace towards the other end of the containment chamber. In his head he went over what he still needed to do. Sachiel was the third angel, which meant that Shamshel was going to next attack. Reviewing the timeline, Shinji was slightly worried that the fourth angel still hadn’t shown itself. Was it late? Was Sachiel’s existence in this world just a singular anomaly? 

Suddenly a visual feed popped up inside the entry plug. Shinji was surprised. He had assumed that the SCP Foundation hadn’t bothered to connect the video systems since they had only used the radio. He glanced over and nearly tripped again.  
“Is something wrong?” the radio blared in his ear.  
“No-o, still gett-ting used to i-it!” He excused. He did a double take and looked back at the projection. Kaworu’s face smiled back at him.  
“Hello Shinji!” He happily greeted the pilot.  
“Kaworu?!” Shinji tried to whisper low enough so that the radio wouldn’t pick up his conversation. “Where are you?”  
“Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly. “I disabled the audio, I am in the control room overseeing the testing.” Shinji’s eyes went wide as a realization dawned on him.  
“You, you helped them reactivate unit 01!”  
“Yes, I did,” Kaworu answered. “Although a great deal of NERV’s original components were too restrictive for our current situation.”  
Shinji’s mind went back to the numerous warnings Ritsuko had given about berserk Evangelions.  
“Isn’t that very dangerous?” Shinji slowly asked.  
Kaworu offered a thin smile. “It’s a risk we'll have to take,” he replied. “The fourth angel has already been destroyed, our time is running short.”  
Shinji was stunned. “Destroyed?! By who?!” he cried.  
Kaworu’s smile disappeared and his eyebrows knitted together. “This world has many faces in the shadows that despise angels.” He explained. “Some of them will try to prevent us from returning to our world.”  
“That means Ramiel is the next angel…” Shinji’s voice trailed off. Ramiel had been one of his most difficult battles. It had taken an extraordinary gamble, a cutting edge experimental positron cannon, two Evangelions, and a miracle of luck to finally bring down the flying fortress. He had none of those things now.  
“When will it get here?” Shinji asked, his voice trembling.  
Kaworu tilted his head back and scratched his chin in thought. “It's hard to say,” he finally answered. “My sister may not even be heading in this direction.”  
Shinji blinked a few times in confusion. Kaworu sat up straighter and continued. “Shinji, the angels are still drawn to the same thing in this world as they were in ours.”  
“Lilith….” Shinji quietly answered.  
“And Adam.” Kaworu added.  
“But during third impact, Lilith was- it was Rei!” Shinji protested.  
“And still is,” Kaworu added. “The soul known as Rei Ayanami still resides in the remains of Lilith, as does the body of Adam.” Shinji’s stomach flipped over as he had a flashback to the massive decapitated head looming over the ocean of LCL.  
“But the body, It's not here, uh at this site, is it?” Shinji nervously asked.  
To his relief, Kaworu responded with a shake of the head. “But before we can return to our universe, you must eliminate the threat from all the other angels.” He continued.  
“But we don't even know where Ramiel will attack, let alone every other angel, how am I supposed to defeat them all by myself!?” Shinji cried into the video feed.  
“I’m sorry Shinji, I’ve put a monumental task upon you, but there is no other wa-” Kaworu started to speak, but he was cut off.  
“That's what you said last time.” Shinji replied quietly. “When you made me kill you.”  
Kaworu opened his mouth to reply, but uncharacteristically found himself at a loss for words. The video feed shut off and the radio in Shinji’s ear turned back on.  
“-audio blockage resolved. Oh, SCP-6079-1, that should just conclude our testing for today, please return to the starting location and power down for extraction.”  
Shinji proceeded to the docking area, his heart still heavy. 

Several minutes and a power wash later, Shinji stood outside the containment bay doors in his damp plug suit. The guard captain that had escorted him to the test pointed down the hallway. Shinji nodded and began to follow her when he heard a familiar voice from another direction.  
“Wait!, Captain, I would like to speak with SCP-6079 personally!” Shinji turned to see Kaworu, in the same wide brimmed hat and long coat, jogging towards them.  
The captain looked at Shinji, then back to Kaworu. “There really are procedures in place for interviews with anomalies docto-”  
“I just wish to discuss something about today’s test.” Kaworu interjected. His eyes were suddenly glowing a threatening red. The captain looked towards Shinji, then to Kaworu, then shrugged.  
“You have 10 minutes before I pull the containment breach alarm.” She warned. Kaworu’s smile returned and he almost dragged Shinji down the hall. 

Rounding a deserted corner, Kaworu scanned the hallway for cameras.  
“What’s going on? Why are you doing this?!” Shinji yelped as the orange pattern of an AT field suddenly appeared around the two of them. The final angel turned his eyes back to Shinji.  
“I...I’m sorry Shinji, I genuinely am for what I'm putting you through. But we have run out of options. I need you for this.” With a shock, Shinji realized that Kaworu’s eyes had taken on an emotion he had never seen in the angel. Kaworu was pleading.  
“I...I...I’ll do it.” Shinji replied. “I will fight all the angels, I made that decision when I got back into unit 01. But I need to know what is going on! Please Kaworu! No more secrets!”  
Kaworu raised his gaze up to the celling.  
“Yes, you deserve to know…” he said. “When I found myself in this world, I discovered that I had become separated from Lilith in the aftermath of third impact and was alone. I tried my best to integrate into the Lilin society of this world, but the SCP Foundation captured me not long afterwards. I managed to make an arrangement with the ruling council of the SCP Foundation, I would do their bidding and give them all my knowledge on Lilith, Adam, the angels and souls. In return I was permitted a degree of freedom outside of my containment cell, eventually I became one of their most trusted agents. A few months ago I discovered a method of returning to our world, but it required the use of Lilith’s remains, and by then the O5 council had realized my connection with the corpse, locking it far away from me. I was without options until unit 01 was found with you inside.”

Shinji was silent as he processed what Kaworu had just said. The body of Lilith had also ended up in this world. “How exactly does it work?” Shinji asked. “How does Lilith help us return?” 

“The seeds of life are incredibly powerful, reality warping entities.” Kaworu outlined. “The full activation of one is enough to distort space time and quantum fields in a continent sized-area. The combined activation of two was something unprecedented in our universe until third impact. Currently, Lilith is prevented from regenerating by the spear of Longinus, but if we can manage to return Lilith to full power in a controlled manner, then will be able to use that power travel back to our world, instead of being jettisoned into a random one.”  
Shinji’s eyes went wide.”That’s kinda like what Rei said to me!”  
Kaworu was surprised. “When?” he asked. “Are you sure it was her?”  
“I was in a coma after Sachiel attacked,” Shinji recounted. “Uh-I’m not sure if it was real actually…” He was suddenly unsure of his experience.  
“What do you remember?” Kaworu pressed.  
“I saw Rei in a...dream.. I guess, she told me to find ‘the piece of her’ and to remove the spear.” Shinji recalled.  
Kaworu looked down and rested his chin on his hand. Shinji stared awkwardly at him for a minute before breaking the silence. 

“So... third impact somehow….moved us from our world, into this one.” Shinji surmised. 

Kaworu nodded, still deep in his own contemplation. 

“But why was I in unit 01 ?” Shinji mumbled. “I remember surfacing from the ocean on a beach with Asuka….” 

Kaworu shook himself from his deliberation and looked back up. “Space and time are both heavily distorted.” He answered. “The order of certain events in the immediate aftermath of Third Impact may have become fluid.”

Shinji closed his eyes and sighed. It wasn’t a clear explanation, but at least he had some semblance of a cause for his situation. The most crucial parts of his predicament were clearer, so he decided to ask the most obvious question. “Why does everyone in this world look like Ayanami?” Kaworu blinked, not expecting such a question. 

“I unfortunately do not know.” He confessed. “The Third Impact and Lilith’s arrival into this world had effects beyond my knowledge. The O5 council has kept many of their deeper secrets from me.” 

Shinji stared at Kaworu’s eyes as he said those words. The crimson eyes that he had seen hold so many secrets and hidden truths now contained only a silent plea. Kaworu had finally let him in. The pulsing force field that surrounded both of them confirmed it. 

Shinji relaxed his shoulders. “Thank you for being truthful this time Kaworu.” He said quietly.  
“I-” Kaworu began, before Shinji suddenly reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace.  
“Don’t leave this time.” He shakily breathed into the angel’s shoulder. Carefully, Kaworu wrapped his arms around Shinji and put his head on Shinji’s shoulder too. “I’m here,” he whispered. They stood and held each other for a long time. 

Eventually Kaworu raised his head. “We should return before Captain Brigetson puts the whole site into lockdown.” Shinji giggled and pulled away. Kaworu lowered the total isolation field and the two of them walked back down the hallway.  
………..

Researcher Heian yawned as she walked back into the SCP 6079 control room with a fresh cup of coffee. The lead up to the first activation test had seen her working longer and longer hours as project lead. With the exception of Dr. Clef’s occasional assistance, she found herself alone in the armored overlook. So she was surprised when the doors opened to reveal Captain Brigetson hunched over a bulky laptop. Setting her mug down, Heian walked over to the captain and looked over her shoulder. On the screen was a security camera feed. As she watched, she saw Doctor Clef run around the corner holding SCP 6079-1’s hand. As they turned, she could see that the Doctor’s face was obscured by a strange static distortion. SCP 6079-1’s entire body was tense and as they looked around, their mouth formed into a series of unheard but desperate words. Clef seemed to survey the scene in front of them, before the entire picture degraded into static. 

“What happened?” Heian asked.  
Brigetson was silent, and responded by flipping to a different view. Heian watched in shock as the picture also cut out at the exact same time stamp. Bigetson fast forwarded about seven minutes. The static suddenly vanished, and the two figures went back around the corner. 

“An undetected ability from SCP 6079-1?” Heian questioned.

Brigetson shook her head. “None of the cameras in the child’s cell have had any problems.”

“Then what caused it?” Heian questioned. Brigetson was silent. 

“You….you think it's Clef don’t you.” Heian asked after a long silence.

“The distortion on their face, the fact that every camera and recording device went out at the exact same millisecond in the hallway, it couldn’t possibly be anything else.” 

“Director Tallerin told me about Clef’s….oddities. You think they’re anomalous?” Heian mused. 

“Without a doubt.” Brigetson flatly answered. “The council probably sent them here for something they’re not telling us.” 

“Their knowledge on SCP 6079 is very thorough.” Heian observed. “The information they gave me...it's as if they’d seen this all before….”

“I’ve also looked over their phone.” Brigetson continued. “Full access into all major site-wide systems, as well as a direct connection to an unidentifiable server.” 

“Whatever we are caught up in, isn't going to be small.” Heian observed grimly. 

Brigetson pushed away the computer and turned the chair around. “So, what are you doing here, what has the Overseer’s messenger goaded you into doing now?”

Heian sat down at a terminal and pulled up her own work. “Clef sent me a bunch of schematics on weapons for SCP 6079 a few days ago.” She explained. Heian scrolled through several blueprints detailing massive assault rifles, gargantuan energy cannons, and truck sized knives.

“Holy…” Brigetson whispered under her breath.  
“I told them that there was no way that this entire site, let alone our project could manufacture all of these in a reasonable time.” Heian responded. “I’ve been in contact with the entire Eigen-weapon division to try to get some compromise on which ones could be made.” 

“And what did they say?” Beigetson probed. 

“Well, given the child’s testimony, the next of these ‘angels’ was defeated by melee weaponry, as the knives seem the easiest to manufacture, they started with those.” Heian recounted. “Strangely though, they voluntarily took on the task of manufacturing this.” She scrolled through a few blueprints before pausing on something that looked like a massively upscaled anti material rifle. 

“A positron rifle….” Brigetson mumbled as she read the description. “Unbelievable, why would they build a weapon that needs the power of a whole country just to fire one shot?” Heian shrugged. 

“There may be some anomalous means of powering it.” Heian speculated. “The Eigen-weapon division has always had connections to the council.” 

“Of course.” Brigetson said. “The Overseers probably commissioned it personally.” She gritted her teeth. 

“The angel after the next one required a positron rifle to break through its shield.” the Junior researcher explained. “Perhaps the Overseers decided they needed to replicate the previous success.” 

“I don’t think they would trust an interview with an SCP that much.” Brigetson countered. 

“Maybe.” Heian looked back at her screen at the imposing design. “But they probably know something we don’t.”

………..

Kaworu tossed in the small cot of his temporary room. The angelic parts of his physiology meant that he didn’t strictly require sleep, but his form as a Lilin meant that he was accustomed to it. His mind had gone over his conversation with Shinji many times. It had brought out a vital mistake he hadn’t considered. Kaworu had done everything to get them both home so Shinji could finally find his happiness, but he had neglected to consider how much more Shinji would need to give to get there. If he truly wanted to give Shinji happiness and earn his affection, Kaworu needed to be more thoughtful.

Kaworu’s mind turned towards more immediate concerns. Now that he was separated from Adam and Lilith’s fused form, the call that had plagued him his previous life had returned. The yearning to be reunited with one of the seeds of life, to become one again. Thankfully, Kaworu was unique among angels for having free will, and he was able to resist the pull. But he doubted any of his siblings would be able to. However that evening he had suddenly felt a sudden surge in the strength of the call. He still did not understand what Rei ayanami was trying to, why was she still calling Adam’s children? Regardless of intent, Kaworu knew what the consequences would be: The attacks would be coming faster now. The final angel closed his eyes and turned over. The clearly delineated thoughts of the conscious mind began to blur as he began to drift towards sleep. Then he felt a presence at the edge of his mind. As the soul of Adam, Kaworu could feel the AT fields of the first angel’s children even from afar. Now, even in a semi conscious state, Kaworu became aware of an incredible force growing closer. He could feel his sister’s power begin to build, her mechanism of attack spinning faster, then he felt thunder. Kaworu’s eyes snapped open. 

Hurriedly putting on his coat and shoes, Kaworu bolted out of his room. He dashed through the labyrinth of hallways, away from the onsite dormitories and towards the office spaces. He came to the site director’s office and ran past it. Coming to an elevator, Kaworu swiped his badge and hit the second basement level button three times. The speaker beeped three times and the doors almost slammed shut. Kaworu felt the elevator descend past the second basement level before stopping above the third level. The doors opened to a single, short hallway ending in a closed door bearing the SCP Foundation logo in a blood red hue. Kaworu stepped out of the elevator and briskly walked towards it, swiping his card on the lock. 

The door gave a light toned “BING” and the heavy bolts retracted. Kaworu swung the door open and sat down at the small metal table in the cramped quarters. A secret hardline to Site- 01, hidden between two floors that not even the Site Director knew about. Behind him the door closed and locked. The terminal in front of him flickered on, revealing a rotating SCP foundation logo, which was quickly replaced by a video call with one participant, O5-2. 

“Doctor Clef, I assume this is regarding the loss of communication with observation outpost 035?” The synthetic voice skeptically asked. 

“The fifth angel has appeared.” Kaworu remarked flatly. “She has already destroyed the observation outpost.” 

O5-2 was silent. 

“I am confident that she is heading towards site 47.” Kaworu continued. 

O5-2 replied. “Satellite imaging confirms that a large ontokenetic entity moving towards Site 2000, projected to intercept site 47.” 

There was a pause. “I will call the council.” O5-2 declared. A few seconds later O5-6, O5-8, and O5-5 entered the call.  
“We are not ready!” O5-5 immediately cried. “The positron rifle is nowhere near complete!”

“Then we will do without it!” O5-6 asserted. “The Foundation has always defended this world with our own means!” 

“This is a precarious situation unlike anything we have seen before.” O5-2 interjected. “We have never had to neutralize so many reality bending creatures in such quick succession, we cannot afford to go in guns blazing and hope that we prevail.”

Something approximating a grumble came from O5-6’s voice synthesizer. 

“Dr. Clef,” O5-2 turned her attention to Kaworu. “How long until your sibling is within range of site 47?” 

Kaworu ran the numbers in his head, given Ramiel’s flying speed and her range, Site 47 would be within the kill zone of her particle beam within eight hours.

“I would estimate eight hours.” Kaworu answered.

“That is good,” O5-2 replied. “What six said is true, the experimental weapons will not be ready in time, thus we can only rely on our own armaments. I would like to call a vote for approving to use Pandora’s Box class ordnance.” 

There was silence as tension hung in the air. After what felt like an eternity, O5-6 spoke.

“Aye,” She affirmed. “I vote for authorization of Pandora’s Box class weaponry!” 

“Aye.” came O5-5’s reply. O5-8 followed as well.

“I vote in affirmation on my own proposal.” O5-2 confirmed. “And what about Dr. Clef?” 

There were four members of the council present, as well as a level 4 personnel who would be directly conducting any weaponry usage. Given the small quorum, they needed a unanimous vote from all those present. Kaworu was under no illusions that the spear would be off limits, it was too vital to be taken away from Lilith’s body. But approving of Pandora class ordnance would mean that council would have free reign to unleash every esoteric device of devastation they possessed. From his time serving the council, Kaworu knew that they valued collateral damage even less than SEELE(given their ability to erase memories), and they had weapons that could rival the power of an impact event. But he also knew that this was the only way. Shinji needed a way to defend himself out there. 

“Aye.” Kworu declared at last.

“Good,” O5-2 said. “Now, let us begin strategizing.”


	7. The Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The confrontation with Ramiel is at hand. High in the mountains, Shinji piloting Unit 01 prepares to act as bait for a intricate trap that will bring down the fifth angel. But no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and a thunderstorm can hide the movement of other things.

Shinji shifted uncomfortably in the seat of the entry plug and stared ahead into the dark night. He had been here before, looking into the void and waiting for the fifth angel. However, last time he had been armed with a cutting edge super weapon; now all he had was a haphazardly assembled progressive knife. Shinji had been woken up in the middle of night by a site wide alarm. His stomach had flipped when he had heard that Ramiel had been detected. He was subsequently rushed into unit 01 and led out of the containment chamber. Shinji had stood in the cool night air for a few minutes, enjoying his first time being outside since he was put into containment. From there it wasn't hard to know where he was supposed to go; there was a steady convoy of trucks and helicopter buzzing into the mountains, carrying all sorts of heavy equipment and weapons. Still, It had taken him more than half an hour to walk the distance to where the SCP foundation had set up a trap for the fifth angel. It was then, as he crested the last slope and saw the dozens of searchlights pointed at him, that Shinji realized he was bait. 

The location the Foundation had chosen for the confrontation was a long, narrow lake high in the mountains. Directly across the water on the other shore was a narrow pass between two snow capped peaks. He had been briefed that it was through this path that Ramiel was most likely to travel and the entirety of the far shore had been mined with “scranton reality anchors”. Shinji was told that these devices were more than capable of knocking out of an AT field. To finish off the angel after its shield was down, the Foundation had a geostationary bombardment platform positioned directly over the lake. The foundation had chosen the location based on what Shinji had said in an interview about the range of Ramiel’s attack. Apparently they had taken his number and increased it by 10% for margin of safety. Of course this was still a gamble based on the idea that Ramiel would not be able to detect the hidden reality anchors lying in wait. So as an extra precaution, Ramiel would be subjected to a continuous artillery bombardment as soon as it entered the valley. The idea was that the barrage would distract the angel from seeing through the ruse. From what Shinji gathered, Kaworu had personally been there when the plan was written up but even he wasn’t able to confirm if the distraction would really work on his sister angel. 

Shinji leaned back and sighed, a trail of bubbles rising in the LCL. This plan seemed much more thought out than operation Yashima, the shoddily put together affair that Misato had conjured up by herself. Still, Shinji was more unsettled now than he had been on that night in Tokyo 3. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Kaworu would not be helping him on the frontlines. Or maybe because he knew that the Foundation was keeping Lilith’s body and Rei’s soul buried deep in a containment cell. But it was probably the simple fact that he was defenseless bait; standing alone and having brought a knife to a giant laser beam fight. 

The radio on his head rest flipped on. 

“SCP 6079, Dr. Clef would like to speak with you.” Shinji had learned that during the course of his walk from the site that Kaworu went by the alias of Dr. Alto Clef while he was under the employ of the Foundation.

“Yeah, sure.” Shinji responded. A second later a video feed opened on his left. Despite the precarious situation, Kaworu still wore his trademark smile that he always had, at least for Shinji.

“How are you feeling?” He softly asked. 

“Very nervous,” Shinji admitted. “I...I feel so exposed out here.” Unit 01’s massive frame trembled in response to Shinji’s involuntary shivers. 

“It will be ok.” Kaworu reassured him. Shinji pursed his lips into a thin smile. The radio came back on.

“SCP 6079, target is now 19.7 kilometers from your location.” Another voice came over the radio.“First artillery position is within range, begin suppressing fire!” 

A distant rumbling came from Shinji’s left in the distance as the autonomous guns began their first volley at the Ramiel. There was a slight pause as the cannons moved to reposition and reload before the sound of shells exploding against an AT field filled the air, then the firing started again. Shinji turned his head as the roar of the firing cycle intensified with another gun battery joining in the chorus of destruction. There was a whooshing sound by the feet of the Evnagelion and Shinji swiveled his head just in time to see a volley of missiles fly up into the hills from mobile launchers on the lake shore. Shinji relaxed as the din of the barrage continued. It was reassuring to know that he wasn’t in this fight alone; Amidst all that chaos surely Ramiel would never suspect the trap below. 

Suddenly the dull orange flares of the shells was pierced by a blinding magenta flash deep inside the mountains. Shinji felt it in his bones before he heard the ear splitting scream of the fifth angel. Shinji's blood ran cold as the high pitched wail of anguish buried itself into his soul and a distant mountain side exploded in a rush of ruby hellfire. 

“First mobile artillery battery has been vaporized!” A report was shouted over the comms. “Second mobile battery is down 40%!” 

Shinji gripped his knife tighter and concentrated his AT field in front of him.

“Target is 18 kilometers from SCP 6079, third and fourth batteries begin bombardment!”

The volume of the barrage increased again as two new positions came online to Shinji’s right.  
Looking down at his trembling hands on the controls, Shinji tried to steady his nerves with a deep breath of LCL. His heart rate had spiked during Ramiel’s first attack and refused to come down. Shinji knew that all the cannons had been autonomous, no lives had been lost in the blast, yet he was still on edge. There was still the nagging thought in the back of Shinji's mind that something was wrong. He tried to calm himself by focusing on the water of the lake. Despite the violence beyond the far shore, the surface was relatively calm. Each shock of a shell exploding sent a small ripple through the inky expanse in front of him. As Shinji stared closer at the lake, he noticed something strange. There was a rhythm to some of the ripples that did not match any of the exploding ordnance in the distance. He craned his neck forwards to get a better look and narrowed his eyes.

………..

Kaworu sat in the hastily set up forward operations center feeling the distant tremors of battle echo in his bones. All around him Foundation personnel were busy controlling the autonomous guns and receiving reports from the frontline. He tucked his chin deeper into his chest and pulled the wide hat lower. From this distance, the fifth angel’s fury was nauseating, like an endless cascade of thunderbolts in Kaworu’s soul. Ramiel had taken almost no damage despite the hundreds of tons of explosives that had been dropped onto her AT field. Everytime Ramiel fired in retaliation Kaworu could feel the destruction that it would cause. Yet despite the staggering force of the angel of thunder, Kaworu could feel something else. Another, more subtle feeling hidden underneath the thunderous roar. At first Kaworu had believed it was Unit 01, but he knew Shinji soul was like and this presence did not feel like an Evangleion. His displeasure had only grown when Shinji had activated his AT field in preparation for facing off with Ramiel. The rippling presence had remained unchanged. 

Scowling, Kaworu shot up from his seat and paced to the edge of the room. This was not something he had accounted for, what had changed? Kaworu ran over the entire scenario in his head again. The call. The call of Lilith and Adam had grown stronger. That meant that Kaworu’s siblings would be awakened sooner and attack with even more ferocity. There would be less time between each attack, the intervals getting closer until… Kaworu's eyes went wide as the realization struck him. 

Dashing back to the console he turned on the video call. He had to warn Shinji.

………..

Shinji continued to stare at the odd set of ripples in the lake. He had confirmed it now: they did not match up with any of the explosions in the distance, nor were they the result of Ramiel’s sporadic and earthshaking counter attacks. Instead they seemed to move based on some unseen pattern of their own. The trail of ripples wound in circles across the water, slowly winding closer from the far shore. Shinji took a tentative step forwards, the right boot of Unit 01 splashing into the shallow tides. The ripples were close now, only a few hundred meters away. The video screen suddenly reappeared to Shinji’s left. A panicking Kaworu was shouting something. “Shinji! Get out of there!” 

Shinji blinked vacantly, he didn't understand what Kaworu meant. Ramiel was over 15 kilometers away and still occupied by the artillery barrage. 

“The water!” Kaworu cried. “It’s Gaghiel!” 

The meaning of Kaworu’s words shot through Shinji and he began to lift his foot to take a step back when the lake in front of him exploded, a massive, dark silhouette shooting into the sky from a gargantuan geyser. Time seemed to slow as Shinji's eyes widened in horror at the new angel in front of him. The enormous jaws were wide open and the row of conical teeth glinted in the full moon and fiery explosions. Instinctively, Shinji whipped out the only weapon he had, the Foundation made progressive knife and swung it at the attacking beast. 

Shinji felt a deep thump and was carried backwards as the jaws closed around him, his knife burying itself up to the hilt somewhere in the angel’s mouth. Half a dozen points of pain exploded across his body as Gaghiel bit into Unit 01’s flesh. In his mind, Shinji saw his previous encounter with the sixth angel. He had been trying to double synchronizing with Asuka inside Unit 02 when a misstep had thrown them into the water from the deck of a carrier. What followed was Gaghiel tossing the Evangelion around like a worm on the end of a hook. He knew that his Evangelion would be easy prey if he allowed himself to be pulled under again. Gritting his teeth Shinji pushed with all his strength against the vise like grip. The jaws did not budge. Instead the angel of the sea sweeped its tail in a wide arc across the beach and shifted its snout towards the lake. Shinji groped in the mouth for his knife, his hands landing on its hilt stuck into the flesh next to a tooth. Extracting the blade, Shinji drove it repeatedly into the the gums of the great beast, angelic blood spraying from each wound. However Gaghiel seemed to not notice the wounds and continued to nudge itself back towards the water with its prey. 

“New target!” the radio screamed. “It has SCP 6079!”

“Redirecting batteries 5 through 8 to fire on the new contact!” The order was barked in a different channel. 

Shinji was immediately rocked by a series of powerful blasts as the first salvo of shells exploded against the angel’s snout. 

Gaghiel whipped its tail again, the massive bulk pivoting ever closer to the inky depths. 

“The core!” Shinji heard Kaworu cry over the video feed. Shinji craned his head upwards and saw a dim red glow in the back of the jaws. Shinji stabbed his knife into the gums again and tried to pull forwards, only for more flashes of pain to shoot through him. 

“Ahh!” a column of bubbles floated up in the LCL. 

“The teeth,” Shinji breathed heavily. All of Gaghiel’s teeth were outwards pointing he realized, when the mouth was closed, they formed a formidable palisade against any direct attacks on the core. Last time it had taken a pair of battleships rammed down the angel’s gullet to break those teeth, but such a plan was out of the question now. Then an idea dawned on Shinji, he may not be able to get in, but the alignment of the teeth meant that he could get out. Gritting his own teeth, Shinji wedged the knife wielding arm between two interlocking fangs and slammed the blade into the stony shore. Another set of shells impacted the angel and Shinji felt the jaws jostle and a pair of teeth dislodge themselves from Unit 01’s body. He sucked in a deep breath of LCL. He only needed to wait for the next artillery strike-

Gaghiel thrashed again, the angel violently throwing itself into the air and crashing down into the surf. Shinji gasped as he felt the cold water flood into the angel’s mouth. The force of the maneuver had ripped Shinji’s knife from its rocky crevice and now when he stabbed downwards there was only loose sand. 

“Help!” Shinji cried over the comms. One more throw by the angel would mean the end of any realistic chance of escape. “Artillery is reloading!” was the only response form the command. 

“Force the jaws open!” Kaworu yelled from the video. 

“I...I can’t! It-it’s too strong!”

“Your AT field!” Kaworu cried. 

Shinji’s eyes lit up. If he could concentrate the AT field against the upper jaw, then when Gaghiel thrashed again, he could use the momentum of the angel against it. Pulling his arm back into the jaws. Shinji stored the Knife away in a shoulder pylon and planted his open palms on the upper gum. He swung his legs over, putting both boots on the roof of the cavernous maw. The fangs dug deeper into the Evangelion’s back as he positioned Unit 01 in a supine position facing the upper teeth. There was a twitch in the jaws as Gaghiel prepared to moved again. Shinji could feel the telltale tensing of the massive muscles before the angel thrashed and closed his eyes focusing on the light of his soul. He pulled the barrier close, coiling it up inside him, closer towards the core than he ever had done before. With a guttural roar of triumph, Gaghiel twisted its tail and lunged towards depths. 

A brilliant orange octagon exploded inside the angel's mouth, throwing the maw wide open. Unit 01 let out an earthshaking bellow as it heaved itself off the impaling spikes, the force of Gaghiel’s movement dislodging the lower teeth and letting the Evangelion splash into the shallow water. Goraining Shinji pushd the Unit 01 up from the sands into a standing position again just in time to see the sixth angel splash down in a gigantic geyser in the middle of the lake. 

“We lost visual on secondary target!” Comms reported. “Primary target is nearing the red zone!”   
Shinji jerked his vision towards the mountain pass. In the commotion of the sixth angel, Ramiel had vaporized almost all remaining artillery batteries in the mountains. Shinji’s heart thumped even louder as he saw the deep azure crystalline geometry round the last corner, finally coming into sight. Shinji’s breath caught as he realized just how large Ramiel was. The eldritch octahedron was at least 4 times the height of Unit 01 and was accompanied by its own angelic chorus of dozens of voices. There was another piercing wail and the entire mountainside next to Ramiel seemed to melt in a rose tinted supernova. Shinji winced as a loud burst of static filled his head set before all comms died. There was a splash far into the lake as Gaghiel’s smooth snout surfaced again. The sixth angel made a tight circle before locking onto Shinji and charging. Shinji’s stomach dropped. He was alone against two angels. Two angels that outclassed his lone Evangelion in both size and firepower. Dozens of gruesome endings to the battle flashed in his mind. Vaporized by Ramiel’s next blast, dragged into the depths of a boiling lake, torn to shreds like Asuka....Asuka. The memory of the invasion of NERV HQ by the JSSDF stuck in his mind. Somehow during instrumentality, he had seen the entirety of her last stand in the ruined geofront against the forces of SEELE. His attention focused in on one image. Unit 02 rising from the lake holding a broken warship aloft as a shield against incoming missiles. 

……….. 

Kaworu gripped the edges of the table tightly as Ramiel moved ever closer to the hidden reality anchors. Shinji still stood there in the shallows as both angels converged on him. 

“Primary target is entering the red zone.” An operator called from a monitor nearby.

“Fire when the angel reaches the focal point.” Site director Tallerin ordered, standing off to Kaworu’s right.

Kaworu stared intently at Unit 01, still standing motionless in a jousting stance with its comparatively small blade for protection. 

“Shinji,” Kaworu whispered under his breath. “What are you doing?”  
After freeing himself from Gaghiel’s grip, Shinj had run along the shore to a point where he was only more exposed to Ramiel’s attack. Now Gaghiel had circled back around and was closing in on Shinji again.   
Kaworu hunched over the screen and narrowed his eyes. When Gaghiel would inevitably leap out of the water for the next attack, There would be a straight line from Unit 01, Gaghiel and Ramiel. The pieces clicked together inside his head and Kaworu managed a slight smile. 

“Primary target is within the firing zone!” The report cut through Kaworu’s thoughts. “Orbital platform standing by!” 

The grey haired angel whipped his head around to look at Tallerin. “Wait!” he called. “Hold for my mark.” 

Tallerin’s maroon eyes lit up with a dangerous scarlet fire. Kaworu was under no illusions that the Site Director was still bitter about him destroying half her facility in the battle against Sachiel. “Doctor, if this is another last minute miracle-!” she began.

Kaworu looked intently at her. “I know what Shinji is doing.” he stated in a calm, controlled tone. Tallerin’s face remained unchanged, her blood red eyes boring a hole into Kaworu’s own. Then her muscles relaxed, her eyebrows fell, and she turned back to the screen. “Follow Clef’s mark!” She ordered into the microphone. Kaworu slumped his shoulders in relief and focused his attention back onto the screen. 

……….. 

Five hundred meters, four hundred meters, three hundred meters. Shinji breathed and dug his heels deeper into the soft sediment of the shore. He had one shot to time his move correctly or else he was definitely done for, no matter if the trap succeeded or not. Gaghiel swam ever closer; two hundred meters, one hundred meters.   
The aquatic angel crested the surface, its massive bulk parting the waters in a cascade down its torpedo like body, its mask like face staring unblinkingly at Shinji. In the distance he could hear Ramiel’s high pitched chorus growing towards a crescendo as a flood of pink light erupted from the tip of the octahedron. 

Contact.

With a final beat of its tail, Gaghiel leapt clear of the water, jaws opened once again to devour Unit 01 in one snap. As the seventy thousand ton beast sailed through the air towards him, Shinji raised the knife above his head...and ducked. In one smooth motion, Shinji pulled the legs up towards his chest and fell. Gaghiel sailed harmlessly overhead, its target disappearing from sight. Shinji felt the shock of the ground under his heels and pushed upwards with all his might. The megahertz vibrations of the progressive knife pushed the blade deep into the angel’s underbelly as shinji leaned forwards, feet sinking into the soft sand to keep balance against the momentum of the angel. Gaghiel roared in pain as its head crashed down behind Unit 01 on the shore. 

Digging his other hand into Gaghile’s underside, Shinji heaved the massive aquatic beast back over his head, positioning the hulking mass of the angel in front of Unit 01 just as Ramiel’s screech reached its peak. 

There was a blast of atomizing heat as the deadly torrent of energy slammed into the back of the sixth angel. He heard the pained cry of Gaghiel as its AT field was pierced and its flesh melted away by an attack that could vaporize mountains. He heard the crackling of the plasma inferno, the groaning of the armor in his unit, and the splintering of Gaghiel’s core. But above all the other sounds in the cacophony, was the seemingly eternal wail of the angel of thunder.

At long last the fuchsia inferno dimmed around the edges of the charred shield. Using the last of his strength, Shinji slid the carcass off to the side and dropped to his knees. From out of the darkness across the lake Ramiel hovered, motionless. Shinji closed his eyes. There would be no last minute berserk this time, he knew so in his heart. As the pink light began to surge from Ramiel once again, Shinji silently prayed that the trap would spring. 

PING! A sharp, metallic sound echoed from the far shore, its pitch even higher than Ramiel’s scream. Opening his eyes, Shinji saw a distorted bubble of space where ramiel had been just a moment before, light bending unnaturally as if the fabric of reality itself was bulging, about to explode. Then there was a pulse, like a rubber band snapping back into place. Shinji felt a wave of nausea come over him and the AT field of Unit 01 being neutralized. Instantly Ramiel’s light died, and the gigantic octahedron crashed onto the ground, its lower vertex ripping up the trees and stones of the valley floor as it toppled over onto its side. “R-..lity-..nnchor---...s…..fired.” Shinji heard a staticy crackle over the radio as the comms systems returned. But Ramiel was not finished yet, from across the lake Shinji saw the pink glow begin to emerge again from the toppled crystalline titan. 

Then the entire far shore exploded, not in magenta, but in a fiery red. Raising an arm to shield himself, shinji saw a barrage of white streaks falling impossibly fast from the dark night sky and striking Ramiel’s defenseless form. Massive shards of the sixth angel were blasted into the air, splashing into the lake or crashing into the mountain side. Every remaining missile battery and artillery piece that had been held back opened up as well, answering the call of the guns from above. The angel of thunder was consumed in a heaven shaking, earth shattering cannonade of explosive fury.

It was over ten minutes before the shelling began to die down. First the orbital bombardment ceased, before the missile launchers fell silent. When the firing of the artillery finally stopped all that was left of the fifth angel was a scattering of azure fragments across the neighboring slopes. Shinji’s shoulders gave out as he slumped back into the seat, paralyzed from exhaustion. His eyes turned to the obsidian sky as tears of relief fell down his face. In the small video screen, Kaworu wiped his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mainly an action oriented chapter, I'll hopefully be able to get in some more plot and character development in the next one.


	8. Reinforcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Shinji gets some well deserved down time after the battle against two angels, the O5 council move to strengthen their defenses.

Kaworu squinted as the lights in the room came on. He was back in the white ceramic chamber facing the wall of monitors again. The reality anchors around him had turned on as soon as he sat down, rising out of the floor to cage him. The screens in front of him flickered to life, all thirteen of them displaying the designation of a council member. O5-1 spoke first.  
“Doctor Clef, I believe we should first commend you on successfully neutralizing two angels in one operation. However, the undetected presence of the secondary target was a major disruption.” 

Kaworu stared forwards in silence.

“If you are not able to detect more than one target at a time, then we will need to begin devising alternative methods of early warning!” O5-6 interjected.

Kaworu stood up and looked at O5-6’s screen. “Councillors, Gaghiel’s appearance at the same time as Ramiel’s was an unforeseen situation. However, now that we are aware of this possibility occurring, I can assure the council that there will be no more mistakes of this nature.”

O5-6’s voice synthesizer made an unsatisfied groan but did not respond. 

“The matter of future attacks can wait.” O5-1 ordered. “The more pressing matter at hand is concerning Doctor Clef’s conduct while at Site 47, namely their interactions with SCP 6079-1.”

Kaworu narrowed his eyes at the mention of Shinji. 

“Eight hours before the detection of the fifth angel, you were seen leading SCP 6079-1 in the west wing of site 47 before all recording devices in that hallway went out for exactly seven minutes and four seconds.” Kaworu held his face neutrally. “The council has no interest in the details of your personal life, after all we have allowed you the same degree of freedom as any other employee of the Foundation. However SCP 6079-1’s nature as relating to the angels and SCP 2000 has reason to raise concern. What did you say to SCP 6079-1?” The final question hung in the air for a minute. O5-1 asked again.

“What does SCP 6079-1 know?” 

Kaworu turned his eyes towards the first monitor. “I reiterated the need for the anomaly to cooperate with all Foundation efforts to neutralize the angels.” Kaworu replied. “That they would be helping the world by continuing to pilot the weapon as they had done.” 

“Does the anomaly know about the skull at the heart of SCP 2000?” O5-13 pressed.

“No.” The angel answered curtly.

The room was silent save for the buzzing of the reality anchors.

“Doctor Clef,” O5-13 said at last. “We realize that the presence of a familiar face from your world can be comforting. However, you would do well to remember where your loyalties lie. You protect the Foundation and this world now. Do not let the past distract you from the future.” 

Kaworu put on a thin smile and bowed deeply. “Of course,” he affirmed. “The safety of SCP 2000 will always be my top priority.” Kaworu was playing a dangerous game, but he also remembered what he had vowed to himself during the third impact, he would no longer be a pawn. 

“Don’t think that we are blind to your schemes!” O5-6 accused. “This council is well aware of your own plans for that thing you call ‘Lilith’!”

“Six! Enough!” O5-1’s synthetic voice bellowed “This is not a firing squad! Clef has proven themselves to be a valuable asset to the Foundation’s mission, we are here to discuss, not to wildly accuse!” 

O5-6 mumbled an affirmative. 

“Turning back to the agenda,” O5-1 continued in a more subdued tone. “The remains of the aquatic creature ‘Gaghiel’ have been transported back to site 47 for further study and examination. The GOC and the rest of the United Nations are currently disseminating a cover story for the artillery bombardment to the general public, a minor volcanic incident I believe.”

“It’s thankful that Site 2000 is in such a remote place.” O5-5 added. “Or else maintaining the veil of secrecy would be prohibitively costly.” 

“Speaking of volcanic activity,” O5-2 interjected. “The borehole base stations around Site 2000 have picked up a rapidly expanding cavity within the magma chamber of the caldera.”

“Sandalphon” Kaworu said barely above a whisper. 

“That would be what, the eighth?!” O5-3 gasped. “Surely you must be mistaken!” 

“More detailed scans have detected Hume fluctuations in the magma surrounding it,” O5-2 responded. “Whatever it is, it's not just an air pocket.” 

“But how?” O5-3 asked. “Clef, your estimation for the timeline was never this compressed!” 

“There has been a change.” Kaworu explained. “The call of Lilith and Adam has grown stronger, I do not know how or why, but the remains of the first and second angel are beckoning my siblings with greater force. They will gestate at a greater rate and, as we have seen, attack in unison.” 

“This was not in the cards.” O5-5 remarked coldly. 

“Then the time table is accelerated!” O5-6 declared. “We must complete all of the anti-angel weapons at once! I propose a permanent authorization of Pandora’s Box class weaponry for any angel incursion!”

O5-2 began to retort but fell silent. Kaworu carefully considered the proposal. Although such weaponry had been approved for the last incursion, they had only ended up using an array of reality anchors and an orbital strike, which considering the extent of the Foundation’s arsenal, was not a lot. 

“If we approve such a measure now, then we will save precious time in every subsequent attack!” O5-6 continued.

“You make a convincing argument.” O5-1 admitted. “Considering the completion of project Samsara, we would have a substantially larger pool of resources to commit to any attack.” 

Kaworu narrowed his eyes. “What is project Samsara?” He slowly asked.

“That is currently still classified level 5.” O5-2 explained. 

“I see.” Kaworu nodded. This was upsetting. Kaworu knew that the presence of a secret Overseer weapon project made to combat the angels was not out of the question, but he hadn’t expected it to be completed so soon. What was this project Samsara?

“Then we will enter voting procedure.” O5-1 announced. Slowly a round of ‘ayes’ arose from the screens. It was unanimous.

“Moving back to the topic at hand, we still do not possess a strategy to neutralize either the seventh or the eighth angel.” O5-2 said. 

“SCP 6079 will be able to handle the seventh.” O5-10 dismissed. “Once its weapons are finished.” 

“What about when the angel divides?” Countered O5-2

“The upgrades should be more than enough to deal with two smaller enemies.” O5-10 replied. “Combined with Foundation weaponry, there should be no problem.” 

“And the eighth?” O5-2 pressed. 

“We drill down to its gestation point and drop a couple of reality anchors.” O5-10 continued. “In fact, i will begin preparations for this operation personally!” 

“Don’t jump the gun.” O5-1 interjected. “These next two angels will require more than just brute force. If the time table has significantly moved up, then relocation of major defensive systems to Site 47 will be necessary.”

A murmur of agreement rippled throughout the room. Kaworu was suspicious, O5-10’s cockiness had always been her weakness, but simply dismissing the threat of two angels was a little overboard even for her. Even stranger was the fact that the rest of the council was seemingly letting it go with only minor objection. Whatever Samsara was, it was enough for the entire council to believe that they still had the upper hand in this game.

“Doctor Clef,” O5-1 continued. “Make sure site 47 is prepared to accept and install the new defensive systems; these angels have become the Foundation’s top, global priority.” 

Kaworu bowed and returned to his seat. 

“The council will continue the discussion of strategy in private.” O5-1 announced. With that, the screen went to black, leaving the final angel alone in the blank white room. As the reality anchors powered down and retracted back into the floor, Kaworu reamined sitting in his chair, holding his chin. The implications of more frequent attacks and even simultaneous attacks was going to mean far more pressure on both the Foundation and Shinji. He stood up and pushed a hand through his hair. There were going to be dark days ahead. 

……….. 

Shinji opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of his containment cell. He closed his eyes trying to remember what had happened last night. The memories of the battle against Ramiel flooded back into his head and he snapped his eyes open again. Rubbing his forehead with his palm, Shinji sat up and swung his feet off the bed. The containment chamber lights slowly brightened. Shinji went over the events in his head in more detail. After returning to Site 47, he had been given a short commendation by the Site Director, an older woman who’s blue hair was bordering on white. Despite the late hours and emergency situation, she had worn an immaculate suit with a sky blue tie, navy jacket, and matching pants. He remembered her mentioning something about a debriefing interview in the morning before he was escorted back to his cell. Groaning, shinji went about his morning routine. It would seem that he would be treated as if nothing had happened, there would only be more monotony and interviews. The door hissed open as he did the last button on his collar. Turning he expected to see researcher Heian standing in the door, but to his surprise he saw Kaworu leaning on the metal frame. 

“Good morning Shinji!” The gray haired angel said with his characteristic positivity. 

“Kaworu!” Shinji jogged over to him excitedly and pulled the taller figure into a tight embrace. 

“I’m glad you made it through last night unharmed,” Kaworu observed when Shinji pulled away. 

“Yeah, I’m still feeling some pain in my ribs where Gaghiel bit me.” Shinji admitted. 

Kaworu looked down. “I’m sorry about not knowing sooner, I should have realized that Ramiel wasn’t alone.” 

“Hey,” Shinji pulled at Kaworu’s long coat. “I had a lot of close calls like that back at NERV too, sometimes we were sent in without even knowing what the angel was, they even let you roam around the place for a whole day…” Shinji fell silent as he realized where his sentence had gone to. But to his surprise, Kaworu let out a quiet giggle. 

“Yes, I suppose it would be quite catastrophic if one of my siblings could disguise themselves as well as me.” He paused. “Would you like to join me for lunch?” 

“Wha-at?” Shinji started. “I can’t just sneak out of my cell Kaworu! You know about their containment breach stuff better than me!” 

“I had a conversation with the Site Director this morning.” Kaworu replied. “For your exemplary service, cooperation, and good behavior she has decided to grant you open hour privileges.” Kaworu held up a small slip of paper with some scrawls on it.  
“SCP 6079 -1 is allowed up to six hours of supervised, socialization time per day in the light containment wing.” The angel read. He turned back to Shinji with an inviting smile. “I guess I can be your supervisor.” 

After a brisk walk through the rather spacious hallways of the light containment wing, Kaworu led Shinji to the anomaly mess hall. “Here we are!” The grey haired doctor announced before pushing open the double doors. Shinji was greeted with a large, windowless cafeteria bustling with figures. Some wore orange jumpsuits, others had on regular clothes like he did. There was a line of people gathered around the serving area. Shinji scanned the room and noticed guards stationed at each corner. Tugging Shinji’s wrist, Kaworu led him through the line with their trays. Shinji frowned when he saw the food. It looked identical to the stuff he had been served in his cell. There were some pieces of recognizable fruits and vegetables, but the selection was otherwise composed of various colors and consistencies of paste and gruel. Filling up his tray to approximately what he had been served previously, he followed Kaworu to a table at the far end of the cafeteria. As Shinji sat down, he surveyed the room again. Almost every single person, he noticed, was somehow different from the average Rei Ayanami look-alike that was considered standard in this world. Some had horns protruding out of their heads, others seemed to have fire crawling up and down their skin. He even saw one person who’s entire abdomen had been replaced with a hovering sphere that looked like a globe. Seeing Kaworu sit down as well, Shinji turned back to face his companion. 

“Something’s bothering you,” Kaworu stated after he swallowed his first bite of green paste.

“Uhm, well,” Shinji continued to stare at Kaworu’s tray. “I’m just confused why Gaghiel showed up at the same time as Ramiel. In our world the attacks were over a week apart.” 

Kaworu leaned in close and whispered. “The call of Lilith has gotten much stronger, the rest of the angles will all be attacking a lot faster.” Shinji’s eyes went wide “I suspect Ayanami has made the choice to accelerate events.” Kaworu continued. 

“I...I’ll have to fight more angels at the same time…” Shinji mumbled. “But why?! why would Rei do that?!” He suddenly said exasperated. 

“Ayanami wishes to return as much as we do, I knew so when we were still fused as one in Lilith.” Kaworu explained. “My hypothesis would be that she is attempting to overwhelm the Foundation defenses to force them to utilize the spear.”

“She would be making them remove the spear themselves.” Shinji realized. “But what if an angel makes it through? Will it cause another impact?” 

“Given that the current situation has deviated from every conceived scenario, I cannot say with accuracy.” Kaworu admitted. “But given that the skull already contains both tissue from Lilith and Adam, merging such a power source with one of my siblings would not end well for us.” 

Shinji swallowed and steadied his breathing. “If the call of Lilith is so strong...then...then why are you not following it?” Shinji said slowly. “Last time you-”

Kaworu rached across the narrow table and held Shinji’s trembling fist in his own hand.  
“During third impact, when I was integrated into instrumentality, I saw your choice to return to the world and to try and find happiness. Being without purpose myself, I decided then that I would help you fulfil your wish. Though we may be in a different world, my choice still stands.” He smiled genuinely as Shinji picked up his head to stare into the angel’s eyes. “My life now has meaning beyond its end, thanks to you Shinji.”

Shinji smiled and put his other hand over Kaworu’s. “I….” He stammered. “Thanks for staying with me.” He said finally. The two shared a long warm smile. 

After what felt like an eternity, Shinji glanced to the side and immediately turned beat red. A good portion of the room had stopped eating and was now staring at them. He quickly pulled his hands back and sat up straighter. By contrast, Kaworu didn’t seem as bothered, but retracted his grasp as well. 

“I apologize that I am not able to do more about the difficulty of your future battles.” Kaworu regretfully admitted. 

“It’s ok,” Shinji answered. “As long as you will be there.” Kaworu smiled and nodded enthusiastically. 

……….. 

Junior Researcher Heian stomped through the halls of site 47 towards the cell of SCP 6079-1. She had been woken up in the middle of last night by an anomaly alarm. Hurriedly driving to site 47, she had been told that an angel neutralization operation was being conducted over 40 kilometres away, and worse still, now that she was there, she was not allowed to leave the site. She had heard the rumble of distant combat as she sat on the grassy knoll in front of the site with other disgruntled research staff. Sometime later there was what looked like a meteor shower, which she was later told had been an orbital bombardment and then the announcement that the operation had been completed. Despite this, there was still a massive queue for the security checkpoint to leave the site and by the time she made it back home it was almost dawn. She had considered taking the day off, but then had been informed that she was needed along with Captain Brigetson to conduct SCP 6079-1’s debriefing interview. So it was with a fifteen minute power nap and five pounds of caffeine coursing through her veins, that Heian jittery opened the door to SCP 6079-1’s cell, only to find it empty. Letting out a loud groan of frustration, she rushed to the neighboring monitoring station to check the surveillance. Sure enough it showed Dr. Clef taking the anomaly with them from the cell, seemingly towards the anomaly mess hall. Heian slammed her fist down on the counter. This O5 agent had come out of nowhere, first taking control of her project, then stealing her anomaly without clearance.

There was another click at the door and a very groggy Captain Brigetson walked into the room.

“Here for the interview too?” She yawned. 

Heian’s anger abated when she saw her old friend. “Are you allowed to work in that condition.” She jokingly jabbed.

“Nope.” Brigetson mumbled. “That’s why I’m currently not on duty.” She plopped herself in a nearby seat and leaned her head back. 

“I cannot believe Clef would just take the child, they must have known there was an interview scheduled for now!” Heian pulled at her hair. 

“Just take a nap until they get back,” Brigetsone mumbled. Heian stormed out of the observation room back to the cell. The room was just as it had been that last time she had seen it. She paused as a glint on the door caught her eye. A single, long silver hair clung to the side of the door frame. Heian squinted and leaned it closer. There was no doubt that this belonged to Dr. Clef. The memory of her conversation with Captain Brigeton the previous night rang in her ears. Clef was most likely anomalous, but in what way? Taking a small sample bag from her pocket, Heian carefully picked the hair up with the plastic before flipping it inside out and zipping it shut. She hurried out of the room and down the hall. She had a small detour at the bio-samples lab to attend to before Clef returned. 

Heian knocked on the steel door to the bio lab and tapped her foot. The door buzzed, and a short haired researcher with round glasses opened the door. 

“Oh hello...can I help you?” She said in a timid voice.

“Oh yeah,” Heian pulled out the small bag. “I need this hair analyzed from a potential anomaly.” 

The other researcher narrowed her eyes. “Shoul-shouldn’t you call a containment team first?” She nervously asked. Heian let out a groan and rolled her shoulders. “They’re already under Foundation custody.” She fibbed. The bio-lab technician relaxed her shoulders.  
“Oh ok, uh sure, we can do some analysis.” She pulled open the door and ushered Heian inside. The longer haired woman slowly looked around the spacious laboratory. Huge machines that she vaguely remembered from her orientation hummed in the back; more standard lab equipment was scattered around several small counters near the front. Nozzles for gas, air, water, oxygen, and more esoteric substances emerged from a hub centered in each counter-top. Absentmindedly, she handed the lab technician her sample bag. Heian’s eye focused on one piece of equipment in a corner. It was huge, well over three meters tall and just as wide. It was rounded on all sides, looking vaguely like a hemisphere that had rectangular sections removed and reattached. Displayed on a small rectangular screen were the words: “WAVE FUNCTION CARTOGRAPHER” 

“So, uhm, did you just want me to run the standard organic tissue battery?” The short haired woman asked. Heian’s memory pulled up a recollection from the first angel attack. During the clean up, she had heard some of the physicists talking about the strange behavior of the particles in its composition. Heian pointed at the rounded machine. 

“Can you do that in addition to the standard battery?” 

“Oh, that, that’s a physics machine. We just have it on loan from site-” The laboratory researcher began. 

“I know,” Heian interrupted. “But I have a feeling we’ll find something about this hair with that.”  
It just fit too perfectly. Clef was too knowledgeable about the angels, souls, SCP 6079, they had to be connected in some way to all the giant monsters that were attacking them. The shorter haired woman continued to look at Heian with a puzzled expression, but agreed. 

“The results will be back in five to seven days.” She stated. 

“That’s fine,” Heian nodded. “Thank you, by the way. You’re doing me a huge favor.” She added. 

The other researcher nervously nodded and took the bag to a counter to benign preparation. Heian took one last look around the room and walked out. 

……..

Kaworu walked out of the dining hall, holding the double doors open as Shinji followed him. As They turned back away from the anomaly common area, the angel turned to his companion.

“If you would like, we could eat lunch outside of the cell more frequently.” He said. Shinji blushed and turned away. 

“Yeah, sure.” Despite Shinji’s attempt at hiding it, Kaworu could hear the excitement in his voice. 

A soft buzzing interrupted their conversation. Frowning slightly, Kaworu took out his phone and checked the notification. He cocked an eyebrow as the seal of O5 council was displayed. Opening the phone, he read the alert. The first wave of the new site defenses had arrived. Kaworu turned back to Shinji.

“It seems I have some business to attend to with the site director.” He explained.

“Oh, ok.” Shinji replied with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“I’ll walk you back.” Kaworu offered. 

Shinji nodded, and the two continued down the hallway. A few turns later, the familiar containment cell door returned to view. Outside stood a very annoyed Researcher Heian. Before Kaworu could speak, the junior researcher had stalked over to him.

“What were you doing letting an anomaly out of its cell?” Heian was trying hard to suppress her anger. Kaworu merely held up the sheet of paper.

“Director Tallerin has seen fit to allow SCP 6079-1 supervised socialization time, seeing that I was free, I decided to supervise.” Heian’s anger seemed to diminish at the explanation. Letting out a huff, she turned to Shinji.

“You’re late for your debriefing interview.” The junior researcher noted. Shinji nodded and walked past Kaworu, following the researcher back to the cell. As Shinji turned his head back, the angel gave him a wink, before turning around himself and hurrying down the hall. 

Kaworu took a left turn and opened his phone again. The message had been repeated, this time also by the site director. Taking the next right, Kaworu turned into view of the Site 47 loading area. Today there were 2 guards standing by the door. Running up to them and flashing an ID, they pushed open the security bulkhead and let him out.  
Kaworu blinked as the harsh noon light hit his face. Immediately he noticed the line of trucks stretching far off into the distance as well as the site director with her personal security detail. The first heavily armored truck pulled into the huge garage and made a U-turn, parking facing away from the group of site officials. Kaworu walked up next to Tallerin who shot him a dirty look, before facing back to the truck. The doors unlocked and a thing pushed itself out of the rear compartment. It was a towering figure, well over two and a half meters in height and clad from head to toe in cobalt colored armor. Two headlamps scanned the area in front as it landed on the ground with a thud. In its left arm was clutched a massive machine gun, more in line with an auto-cannon. An intimidating helmet covered the figure’s entire head. The figure stepped to the side, and hefted its “rifle” into a salute position. As the doors to the truck locked again, Kaworu glimpsed the interior of the compartment lined with similarly sized weapons. Kaworu watched in silence with the staff as three more trucks pulled up next to the first one and disgorged similar shaped occupants. The squad of armored figures made a line and patiently waited. The fifth truck in line pulled up and a normal looking short haired woman stepped out of the passenger seat. Carrying a tablet and a stand, she placed the screen on the tripod and stood off to the side in a salute. A second later, the designation of O5-2 appeared. The site personnel beside Kaworu immediately snapped to a salute, mirroring that of the tablet attendant. The silver haired doctor followed suit for appearances. 

“Good afternoon Director Tallerin.” The electronic voice buzzed from surprisingly powerful speakers. 

“Good afternoon Councilor.” Tallerin flatly responded.

“At ease,” O5-2 declared, salutes across the room dropped. “Seeing as there is a shipment of defense systems that will need to be attended to, I will keep this short. These four personnel are the members of a new Mobile Task Force designated Tau 5, call sign Samsara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta reader cinip for looking over this chapter.


	9. Comrades in Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tau-5 Samsara's arrival at Site -47 throws a wrench into the anti angel operations. Now Shinji and the new team of cyborg superhumans must learn to work as one before the seventh angel appears.

Kaworu narrowed his eyes. The four monolithic giants continued to stand motionless in front of the assembly. So this was project Samsara? How was this small four person team supposed to be the trump card against the angels? Unless…. Kaworu invisibly reached out, extending his own AT field towards the closest armored giant. He felt the energy pass through the air around them, past the layers of the armor-BZZZZZT. The familiar sensation of two AT fields colliding jolted through him. Quickly he pulled the barrier back just in time to see the figure give a slight twitch. His suspicions were confirmed. Each member of this new unit probably had an AT field of their own; he held his face steady as O5-2 continued.

“Mobile Task Force Tau 5 Samsara is the Foundation’s newest weapon against these angels. Several of the following trucks contain their support equipment, these are to be handled by trained level four personnel, do you understand director?”

“Yes ma’am.” Tallerin said, staring unblinkingly at the tablet screen.

“Good,” Kaworu could imagine the overseer nodding at her monitor. “The other vehicles contain weapons and equipment for SCP 6079 as well as standard Foundation defenses, I will allow the site security to decide how best to utilize these pieces.”

The site director nodded in affirmation. 

“And for Doctor Clef.” Kaworu’s eyes snapped to the tablet. “You are tasked with integrating Samsara and SCP 6079 into one cohesive unit that will be able to effectively neutralize the next angel, I trust you will have no problems with adding a few more personnel to your operations?” 

“There will not be any problems.” Kaworu bowed. 

“Then I will not take up any more of your time.” The speakers buzzed. “Carry on.” Then the tablet shut off. The technician collected the stand and disappeared back into the truck. 

Tallerin immediately pivoted to face Kaworu. “Did you call this new task force here?” She interrogated with narrowed eyes.

“No, this was the council’s personal decision.” He replied. “I gave no input on their deployment.” 

To Kaworu’ surprise, Tallerin did not press him further. Instead she silently nodded and turned to the other staff. 

“Alright!” Her sharp voice cut through the air. “We all heard what the councillor said, Doctor Serai, you are appointed to head the setup operation for Tau-5’s equipment.” 

A long haired figure in the back gave an affirmative.

“Site security will begin unloading the rest of the equipment immediately, I want heavy weapons moved to storage, and small arms added to the site armory, I will update you on specific setup in four hours.” A small contingent of armed Site security officers saluted and moved to direct the other trucks to unloading. 

The Site director turned back to face the new task force. Walking up to the closest one, she reached out an open hand. “Welcome to Site 47 Samsara.” 

The armored giant grasped the site director’s hand with a huge gauntlet and lightly shook it. 

“A pleasure to meet you, I am Irantu.” The flat voice echoed out of several speakers in the helmet. “The rest of the team is composed of Munru, Onru, and Nanku.” The first soldier pointed at each of her comrades in turn. 

“It is a pleasure to have you here,” The site director said. “It’s good to know that the Council considers this site to be worth defending.” Formalities, Kaworu knew that Tallerin didn’t want any more overseer agents breathing down her neck. 

“Yes,” Irantu responded. “This site and SCP-6079 are of utmost importance to all Foundation operations world wide.” There was no humor or enjoyment in the voice. It was dead serious about its response and it reminded Kaworu of the way Ayanami spoke. An awkward silence hung in the air.

Tallerin cleared her throat and continued. “So the council has specified that you will be working with Doctor Clef and SCP 6079 on defense then, I assume that you are familiar with Clef?” 

Irantu shook her head. “No, my team has had no prior contact with Doctor Clef, but we have been briefed on their methods and prior work.” 

The site director nodded. “Very well, I will leave you in their care then.” Tallerin turned and walked back into the site with her bodyguards. 

Irantu turned her gaze to the silver haired doctor. “How soon is joint training to begin?” She asked bluntly.   
Kaworu stared back into the dark, glossy surface of the helmet. “When will your team be prepared?” he probed.

“Immediately.” Irantu answered. Kaworu nodded. He had greatly underestimated the overseers, not only were these supersoldiers an insurance policy if Shinji should fail, but Kaworu suspected they were a check by the council on his own actions as well. What stood in front of him were human sized, mass production Evangelions, loyal only to the overseers and without any agendas of their own. Just like before with NERV, Kaworu had to admit that the unique powers of Lilin ingenuity were more than a match for the children of Adam. There was no chance of getting the O5 council to recall Samsara, for now he had to play along. 

“In that case, I will give you a tour of the site.” Kaworu concluded. Irantu nodded and motioned to the rest of her team to follow. He turned around and walked back towards the door, followed closely by the darkly armored giants.   
……..

Researcher Heian closed her binder and moved to switch off her recorder. Putting the device back in her pocket, she turned to look at SCP 6079-1. The child was exhausted, their eyelids drooped and their mouth was thin. It had been a long interview that neither of them had enjoyed. Unlike the previous research interviews, this one had mostly been boring bureaucratic stuff to slough through. Heian had finally finished questioning at the two and a half hour mark feeling quite disgruntled and annoyed. Brigetson had fared even worse. The captain had nearly dozed off several times during the tedious process. She had hurriedly asked her set of security related questions before exiting the room. Heian stood up, yawning and said her goodbyes to the anomaly before exiting the containment cell. She was just about to turn back towards the command office, when she noticed a group of figures moving towards her in the hallway. She blinked, blinked again, then narrowed her eyes. There were five people total, although four of them could hardly be said to be human sized. They were massive, heavily armed, and covered from head to toe in some sort of advanced exoskeleton. Heian’s lips twisted into a frown when she saw who was leading the pack. The wide brimmed hat and tufts of silver hair were something she had seen enough of today. No doubt that Clef had pulled some strings to get the overseers to send some serious muscle to further appropriate her project. 

“Researcher Heian!” Clef’s voice echoed through the halls and Heian groaned. She turned around and stalked up to the approaching squad. Up close the giants and their hulking armor were even further contrasted with the small stature of the doctor. 

“I see we have some new staff on site.” Heian said as calmly as possible. 

“This is Mobile Task Force Tau-5, Samsara.” The gray haired doctor gestured towards the figures behind them. 

Heian introduced herself to each of them before Clef spoke again. 

“Samsara and SCP 6079 will become part of a new unit for the purpose of neutralizing future angels, however seeing as you are the research head on SCP 6079, I would like to work out a schedule for joint training with you.” 

Heian blinked. Was Clef asking her, a level 3 researcher, for input on an O5 project?   
“Of course,” Heian replied. “Although, I would like to first know a little bit more about how this new unit is supposed to function.” She hoped she wouldn’t have to spell out the obvious fact that, as impressive as these four super soldiers were, they were still no match for SCP 6079 or an angel. 

Thankfully Clef seemed to understand and nodded. “Yes, I believe there is some explaining I will have to do, However I would first like to introduce SCP 6079 to their new comrades.” Heian nodded.   
“Alright, then you can find me in the SCP 6079 control room.” Clef nodded back and walked past her. 

Heian was lazily typing up her interview when the door to the control room opened. She turned to see Clef standing in the doorway alone. 

“Tau 5 were summoned to the Site Director’s office.” They explained, walking down the steps.  
Heian swiveled her chair to look at the doctor. “What….what are they.” She carefully asked.   
Clef stopped on the steps and considered it for a second. Heian expected the words “Classified” to come out of their mouth, but instead Clef sat down in a nearby chair. 

“Tau 5 are human,” they began. “Albeit significantly augmented with cybernetics and...other enhancements.”

“And how exactly are they supposed to help neutralize the angels?” Heian pushed. Clef sat up straighter and leaned forwards. “All members of Tau 5 are able to project an energy shield of similar composition and strength to that of SCP 6079.” They explained. “They all have AT fields.”

Heian’s eyes went wide. Their site had only acquired SCP 6079 two or three months ago, if the O5 council was able to reverse engineer all that technology in that time, she shuddered to think what else that had been up to.

“Tau 5 will accompany SCP 6079 into battle against angels that require multiple avenues of attack to neutralize.” Clef continued. Heian’s memory flashed back to the angels that the child had enumerated in their interviews. If her memory served, the seventh angel was an entity with a decentralized core system. It could divide itself into two units that had to be destroyed simultaneously. It couldn’t have been coincidence that Tau 5 was sent to their site right after the destruction of the fifth and sixth angels. 

“Given that such a variety of angels exist, how are the higher ups so confident in which angels appear next?” Heian asked. “This doesn't seem to be the first time they have done something based on the testimony of the child, the positron rifle for one…” Heian trailed off as she saw Clef was deep in thought for a response. After a while, they looked up again. 

“Let us say that the council has another source to verify these claims.” They spoke slowly. Then their usual, casual demeanor returned. “What time would work best for training?”   
Heian silently counted the hours in her head. “Let’s go with half past noon.” She said. That would give SCP 6079-1 plenty of time to have a meal and get ready for the exertion. 

Clef nodded and stood up. “Thank you for being so flexible, I apologize but I have other matters to attend to.” They strode back up the stairs and opened the door before pausing and turning back to Heian. “I know it can be thankless, but your contribution to the cause has been incredibly important. I know you value your work on SCP 6079 very highly and I don’t intend on stealing your project. However, I too am personally invested in the success of our joint endeavor. I wanted to say thank you, for your cooperation.” Then the door closed again. 

In the darkness, Heian let herself smile a bit. Perhaps she had misjudged the eccentric doctor, maybe they could get along after all.

……..

“A new training program.” The words passed through Shinji’s head again and again as he stood in his plug suit. It had been several days since the battle in the mountains and Shinji had started to grow accustomed to the new defenses that had begun to pop up across the site. But the new task force that Kaworu had introduced him to, Tau-5, still unnerved him. It wasn’t just their size or the way they brandished their gigantic weapons, or even the fact that they were clearly cyborgs, augmented with angel biology. But it was how they reminded him of Ayanami. The indifferent tone of their voices, the blank stares they had in the rare instances they removed their helmets, and the precise, surgical obedience of all orders given to them. He shivered slightly and donned the bulky Foundation neural headset. His first few sessions with the Samsara team hadn’t gone great. Several large inflatable ‘hills’ had been put up in the containment/testing bay and the members of Tau-5, along with Unit-01, had to maneuver through them while avoiding the attacks of a simulated angel. It was a disaster. He had been struck several dozen times by the digital attacker and nearly tripped over himself trying to coordinate with the movements of the smaller, more nimble team. The way they used their own AT fields to hover, boost their jumps, and amplify their offenses was something an Evangelion pilot could only dream of. In the end, Shinji had still made it to the position of the ‘angel’ and neutralized it with his melee weapon, but the look that researcher Heian gave him afterwards was clearly one of disappointment. Today however, there would be none of that, the new ranged weapons for Unit 01 had finally been delivered, and they would be trying out a new strategy with them. The door to his cell opened, and the guard captain led him back to the containment bay. Unit 01 was laid down like always but Shinji noticed that in addition to the mock combat environment, several large shipping containers had been stacked neatly around the side of his unit. After a short ride up to the plug, Shinji found himself inserted back into the spine of his Evangelion again. There was the flash of colors and patterns before synchronization was achieved. Shinji’s heart calmed and the familiar warmth rushed back into his soul. He took a deep breath of the orange fluid. As difficult as the previous days of training had been, he would get through this. 

“SCP 6079-1, the new weapons are in those crates by your side.” Heian said through the radio.   
Shinji sat the unit up and reached for the nearest crate on his left. Removing the sheet metal lid, he lifted up a giant hand gun. The pistol looked similar to the one that he had used against Leliel (to no effect), but the Foundation logo was etched in white on the slide. Shinji tried to eject the magazine, but found that it had been locked into place. 

“All weapons are unloaded for today,the simulation program will register when you pull the trigger.” The radio explained. “After all, this place is hardly a shooting range for naval artillery.” Shinji nodded and reached for another crate. Inside was a set of three progressive knives. After the last sortie, his weapon had been severely damaged and had been taken back for repairs. It seemed that in the meantime he would be given a few replacements. Underneath that was an automatic rifle. Shinji picked up the larger weapon, feeling its considerable weight in the hands of Unit 01 and then flipped it over. The design was sleek and streamlined, with the muzzle jutting out of an otherwise smooth composite shell. The sites were rudimentary and while it seemed to be of a similar weight to NERV’s pallet rifles, the stock was more triangular. Shinji noticed that the magazine of this one was likewise locked in. Slung beneath the barrel was a large tube that looked like an up sized grenade launcher. 

“What’s this for?” Shinji pointed to the hollow tube.

“Check the last box,” Heian said. Shinji pushed the crate housing the rifle to the side and uncovered the last container. Inside, neatly nestled against one another, were several dozen cylindrical shells that fit neatly into the launcher.

“Proximity fuzed reality anchors.” The captain’s voice replaced the researcher’s over the radio. “Those are off limits for today, but in the future, you’ll be able to take down an angel’s defenses from a distance instead of having to get close.” 

A myriad of possibilities raced in Shinji’s head. Which angels would they work on? For the stronger ones, how many would it take to bring down their considerably powerful AT barriers? The sound of another door opening in the containment bay snapped his attention back to reality. As he watched, the four member Samsara team strode into the bay and lined up besides him. Shinji stashed the knives and pistol in his shoulder pylons and stood up, holding his rifle at the ready. 

“Alright, SCP 6079, Samsara, today we are going to be trying something a little bit different from what we have been doing. Seeing that we now have ranged weapons at our disposal 6079 will be providing ranged fire support while Samsara will be the close quarters portion of the assault.” They all nodded. The docking mechanism for Unit 01 was moved away before the simulation started. The inside of the plug flashed and was lit up with an augmented reality model of the third angel standing at the far end of the room, it was motionless as a countdown ticked away near the top of Shinji’s field of view. 

“Ready.” announced the radio. “Begin!” 

The simulated model came to life, its face focusing on unit 01. Samsara scattered as Shinji raised his AT field. There was a purple flash and beep alerting him that he had taken a non damaging hit. Shinji ducked before the ‘angel’ could shoot again,crouching low and returning a burst of simulated rifle fire. Several non damaging hit markers replied. Standing up from his position, he saw that Samsara had gotten significantly closer to the angel whose attention was now turned onto them. There was another purple flash and Irantu ducked behind a blow up hill. The HUD display notified Shinji that the Samsara team leader had taken a non damaging hit. Raising his weapon again, Shinji squeezed the trigger for another burst of rounds. The onscreen simulacra of Sachiel staggered back, but remained standing. Onru was on top of the angel now, pulling out her progresive sword, she projected her AT field beneath her and flew towards Sachiel’s face. The simulated angel swiped with a long, slender arm. The program registered a hard hit, and Onru was forced to levitate to the ground, a failed attack. 

“Coordinate!” The captain yelled over the radio. 

Shinji gritted his teeth. He didn’t need to be told that from someone who had no experience fighting angels. Shinji had defeated over a dozen of them with his teammates and friends. He had gone through some of the worst moments of his life in mortal combat against this foe. He had been forced to kill and maim his friends and family in the grueling process. He had endured the end of all life in his world and he had come back. He wasn’t about to be wiped by a beginner level simulation.

“Firing!” Shinji announced over the radio. Unit-01’s fingered tightened around the pistol grip.. Before sliding forwards to the trigger for the oversized grenade launcher. There was a pop and a virtual grenade sailed in a smooth arc through the air, before detonating against Sachiel’s barrier. There was a telltale ping, before the simulated AT field meter on his HUD dropped to a minimum.   
“Now!” Shinji cired. Instantly the members of Samsara lept from their cover, sprinting now that they had no more levitation ability and unloaded their autocanons towards the angel’s core.   
The simulated angel flailed, trying simultaneously to protect its weak spot and destroy its attackers. Seeing his chance, Shinji crouched, and launched forwards, propelling himself towards the distracted target. The newly improved mobility of his unit carried Shinji across the large containment bay in under ten seconds. Samsara scattered as the massive silhouette of Unit 01 approached them. The simulated angel regained its bearing just in time for unit 01 to plunge a progressive knife deep into its core,and toppling it to the ground. There was a pause as Shinji stood, over the still form of the 3D model before the HUD turned off and the simulation ended. Shinji's shoulders dropped as the radio came on again. 

“Well…..that was…….unorthodox,” the captain commented. “Not to mention reckless and against established strategy.”

Shinji closed his eyes and breathed out. He was going to be reprimanded for this.

“However,” the radio continued. “You did beat the previous time by a full three minutes, and SCP 6079 did not take any substantial damage. Taking all this into account, I should say: good work.” 

Shinji rubbed his eyes and leaned back into his seat. At least now he wouldn’t be the one blamed so much for-

“Alright, reset and let’s go again, we are going to be increasing the aggression of the target this time.” 

Shinji sat up straight and grabbed the controls again. He walked back to the starting line as Samsara likewise assembled next to him. The simulated battlefield popped up again, this time opaque water filled the lower portion of the picture. Shinji found himself knee deep in virtual liquid while Samsara clambered onto the ‘hills’ to stay above the waves. At the other end of the room, a large tan shape surface rolled back under the waves again. Shinji tensed his arms and raised his weapon. 

……..

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH” Shinji screamed as he emptied the entire virtual clip of his rifle into shamshel’s core until the HUD turned off again. He stood there for a minute, sucking in and breathing out huge gulps of LCL. It was an intense day of training, even though his own muscles were not actually moving that much, he felt the strain in the tendons of Unit 01. Over several hours, Shinji had begun to actually get along with Samsara. Overt calls of position and what to do next slowly became implied and a flow of battle had developed. At the end, they had improved on all their previous times by well over a minute, even with higher difficulties. Shinji smiled. They were far from being perfectly in harmony, but he hoped that despite their strange demeanor, Samsara would prove to be good teammates, just like Rei had been… Shinji let himself relish in the afterglow of accomplishment as he was extracted from the Eva and changed out of his plug suit. Shinji fell asleep content that night.

He was far less content when the site wide alarm woke him up at 6 am. The lights in the room came on as he squinted from underneath his covers. He could make out a voice saying something about imminent danger. Another angel, Shinji knew it subsciously before he had even fully awakened. As he pushed himself up, his conscious mind began to count out each angel he had fought. He had beaten Ramiel and Gaghiel together, the next was the seventh. It was Israfel. Shinji’s eyes went wide and he hurried to his closet, and took out his plug suit. Fifteen minutes later he was striding out into the chilly morning air inside the entry plug of Unit 01. There was no fanfare this time, no great convoy or vehicles or massive operation, only a dot on a map slowly getting closer. Shinji had been given some ammo for his weapons and then sent off. The only other vehicle was a lone helicopter which carried the Samsara team. Despite being submerged in LCL Shinji’s mouth still felt dry, his tongue hard to move in his jaw. The sun had just peeked over the ridge in the east, and it seemed that they were walking straight into it. There was silence for the half an hour it took for them to reach the angel. Finally, as Unit 01 scaled the last grassy slope, Shinji crested the ridge to see the hulking grey form of Israfel in the lowland below. 

The helicopter set down as quietly as it could and Samsara stepped out; Shinji’s mind raced. Were they coordinated enough to pull off what he had spent weeks training for last time? The indefinite operation time of Unit 01 would certainly aid in that, but it wasn’t like that would make the coordination actually easier. The combined form of the seventh angel would have to be split in half, and each sub-angel worn down until the simultaneous finishing blows could be struck. 

“We, we uh have to destroy both smaller cores at the same time.” Shinji whispered into the microphone.

“Yes, we are aware.” Irantu responded. Shinji nodded slightly. He would be more at ease if Kaworu was here, or at least communicating with him. But for some reason, he had not seen the silver haired angel for a few days. 

“Be advised, the target is advancing towards your position.” The command center informed them. The jig was up. Leaning over the edge, Shinji slid down the opposing slope, followed rapidly by the Tau-5 team, half hovering, half falling towards the angel. Shinji saw the plan clearly in his mind, he would leap off from the slope about two hundred meters above the angel and use the momentum of the falling Evangelion to bring his knife down and slice Israfel in two. Suddenly the angel raised its mask like face and fired a blast. Shinji raised his AT field and absorbed the blow easily, the form of his Evangelion sliding through the smoke.Seeing that its target had survived, the angel fired again. Shinji concentrated the barrier in front of his chest only to feel a thump and pain in his legs. The slide was interrupted and unit 01 fell forwards, rolling down the hill until Shinji found a grasp in the soft dirt. He heard the telltale sound of another attack and rolled, the spot he had been just moments earlier exploded in a cruciform blast. 

Shinji swiveled his head, his HUD showed that Samsara had scattered, split up in an effort to outflank the angel. He ran the scenario in his head again as he stood up and dodge another attack. In the first uncoordinated offensive, Israfel had handily thrashed both unit 01 and unit 02; painful memories of being stuck upside down after being flung around by the seventh angel surfaced in his mind. Cold sweat beaded up and fell through the LCL as Shinji realized he had severely underestimated his opponent. Clambering to avoid another blast, Shinji replied with a burst from his new rifle, the recoil feeling solid in his shoulder. Several battleship caliber shells slammed into the angel’s AT field, exploding in a shower of light and sparks. Sinji hoped that would be enough of a distraction to go for his knife. Then his view was engulfed in a torrent of purple and orange plasma. 

“GAHHHHHHHH!!” Shinji screamed into the LCL partially out of pain, but also from surprise that Israfel had seen through his ploy. He was weightless for a split second before feeling the head of Unit 01 crash into the dirt at the bottom of the slope. 

“SCP 6079! Get up!” Shinji could hear the dim radio chatter as the LCL swished around him. “Samsara firing weapons!” Came a voice from another channel. Dirt and sod filled Shinji’s view. His rifle had been lost somewhere. Shinji turned his head to survey his surroundings. It took him a second to realize that the darkness was actually due to an immense shadow. Looking up, he was just in time to see Israfel’s huge claw close around his head.


	10. Two Battles, Twice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the battle against Israfel continues, Shinji must devise a plan to destroy both halves of the angel simultaneously. Meanwhile Kaworu is assigned to oversee the neutralization of Sandolphon using a dangerous anomaly. In the midst of this chaos, researcher Heian makes a shocking discovery.

Shinji felt a crushing pressure on his skull as the head of Unit 01 was lifted into the air. Reacting quickly, he closed his left hand around Israfel’s arm and went for his shoulder pylon with his right. In one smooth motion, he drew his progressive knife and cut through the angel’s wrist, cleanly separating the claw from the arm. Shinji felt his Eva’s face hit the dirt again. Staking his knife into the ground, he pushed himself up before Israfel could make another move and stood to face his enemy. Israfel regarded its opponent for a second before its eyes flashed. Shinji strengthened his AT field in a wide area in front of him and felt the blast bounce off. 

“Onru striking the left arm!” Shinji heard over the radio. There was a clang on clashing AT fields before Shinji saw the small form of Onru clambering onto the angel’s limb. Pulling out his second knife, Shinji charged at the distracted angel but was halted by another eye blast.   
There was a scream over the radio and Onru was thrown from the arm, her sword still buried up to its hilt in the clay like flesh of the shoulder. Israfel turned back to Shinji, before its head suddenly jolted forwards as several anti-AT rounds slammed into its back. Nanku ducked and projected her own barrier just as Israfel returned fire. Satisfied that its target had been driven back into cover, Israfel turned to face Shinji again, only to be stabbed in its center mass by two proggressive knives. Shinji strained and cut downwards as the blades sank in. Instantly, the much larger angel slammed its palms down onto the head and shoulders of Unit 01 and shoved. Shinji staggered back, pulling the knives out from his target as he flailed for balance. Another flash of Israfel’s eyes ended any idea of standing, as Shinji was once again sent sprawling by a column of superheated plasma. Shinji cursed as the LCL sloshed around him. Limbs aching, he pulled the Eva up again and deflected another blast off his shoulder. Israfel tried to fire again, but was knocked off balance by a combined salvo from the Samsara team. Shinji quickly surveyed the low lying valley as the battle shifted away from him. There! About seven hundred meters away, was his rifle, still intact. Shinji dashed over, the thundering steps of the Evangelion shaking the boulders nearby. He skidded to a stop, grabbing the stock of his weapon and raised the barrel to face the angel. To Shinji’s surprise, the Samsara team had made quite a bit of progress. Despite Israfel’s thrashing, the four super soldiers had already carved partway through the head. Shinji gripped his knife tightly and started to run, but stopped himself. He had just tried to cut the angel with two knives, but found that there wasn’t enough leverage. He needed a longer lever arm to….his thoughts went to the rifle. Examining it, Shinji saw that there was indeed a slot that could turn his knife into a bayonet. Socketing the progressive knife, Shinji pushed Unit 01 into a full sprint, barreling towards Israfel. Seeing the oncoming Evangelion, Samsara leapt off the angel’s body, right as Shinji plowed into it with the barrel of his rifle. His bayonet stuck deep, piercing through the center mass to the other side. With a heave Shinji cut upwards, the knife cleaving through the bulk of the angel, separating the creature from the core up. Before Israfel could react, Shinji brought the bayonet down again and cleaved through the lower half of his enemy as well, finally separating the creature in two. Shinji heaved in a breath and brought the barrel of his weapon to face the right half of the creature. Without a moment of hesitation, he squeezed the trigger as hard as he could. A deafening string of explosions filled the air as his rifle spat a stream of artillery shells into the motionless mound of amorphous tissue. Shinji knew that it would take a few moments for the fission process to complete and he needed to do as much damage as he could before the twins reactivated. 

“The-the other one!” Shinji shouted over the radio. Several affirmatives replied, as the members of Samsara went to work, carving and blasting away at the other half. Suddenly the deafening blasts were replaced by hollow clicks as the last cartridge casing was ejected from Unit 01’s rifle. Working on muscle memory, Shinji went to eject the magazine and reached into his shoulder pylon for another one. There was a twitch in the deformed pile of angel tissue in front of them. Then it shifted, the mass contorting to produce two new arms and legs. The dull gray flesh flashed a bright orange and the bisected core rounded into a sphere. Shinji barely had time to point his weapon at the rejuvenated angel before it struck. A powerful swipe knocked his aim off target, and another blow toppled him over. Instinctively, Shinji pointed his bayonet at the alpha sub unit, impaling the orange creature. Unfortunately, he had missed the core, and the half-angel straddled his unit and began pummeling down with a series of blows. To his left, the beta sub unit had activated, and he could hear the sounds of combat as the Samsara team hovered around the grey creature, slashing and shooting it, trying to dodge its energy blasts and swipes. Alpha’s claw came down with another blow, but was met by fist of unit 01. With one arm caught, The gold angel raised its other limb to strike, only to be colossally smacked across its faceplate by the Evangelion’s weapon. Wasting no time, Shini leapt at the teetering angel and drove his blade into the core. The red orb splintered as the gold unit fell limply to the ground. Shinji jerked his head to the left and swore. Samsara was nowhere close to destroying their core, in a few seconds, his opponent would be up again. He had to think fast. There wasn’t time to coordinate a simultaneous attack like he had done with Asuka, his limited training with the Samsara team meant that such a perfectly choreographed attack was impossible. Instead he needed some way to restrain the enemy so that they could be simultaneously destroyed, some sort of stunning device. Shinji’s eyes widened and he reached for his left shoulder pylon as the alpha unit began to move again. Removing a reality anchor grenade, Shinji popped it into the underslung barrel and shouted into the radio. “I'm going to use a grenade, we need to get the halves closer!” 

“Roger,” Irantu responded calmly. Instantly the Samsara team repositioned, putting the gray colored twin between them and the gold sub-angel. The air was filled again with the sound of cannon fire as Samsara unleashed their entire anti-AT arsenal, A barrage of shells and missiles sent the beta unit stumbling backwards towards its newly regenerated sibling. Paying no heed to the other half of the battle, the gold angel fired an eye blast at Unit 01. Shinji ducked low, then sprung up, shoulder checking the alpha unit into colliding with its twin. 

“Firing!” Shinji shouted before aiming the shorter barrel at the angels and pulling the trigger. 

Shinji winced as the high pitched ping of the reality anchor echoed around the valley. Instantly all of the AT fields in the valley plummeted. The twin angels which had been writhing to get up just a split second before, fell limp. 

“NOW!” Shinji cried in desperation as he leapt onto the gold one. Samsara didn’t need to be told as they broke out into a full sprint right as the reality anchor went off. The huge frame of the Evangelion covered the distance first, Shinji pinning the limbs of the alpha unit under the knees of Unit 01. Yanking the knife from his rifle, Shinji raised it high above his head…

“We are NOT in position, repeat, NOT in position.” His heart sank as he heard Irantu call over the radio. The knife shook in the Eva’s grasp. Beneath him the angel was still stunned from the reality anchor blast, there was no movement. The world was silent, save for Shinji’s rapid breaths in the LCL. The seconds stretched into eternity as the pilot of Unit 01 started at the imobile enemy under his knees for any twitches, any telltale signs of reactivation. Sweat beaded up on his forehead and nose, some rolled down across over his eyes. How much longer?!

“Three hundred meters!” Irantu called. Shinji dared to steal a glance at the other half of the angel, fearing that a momentary lapse in attention would give his enemy time to counter attack. Neither angel moved.

“Two hundred meters!” Shinji’s heart rate spiked as he felt a twitch under the Eva’s right knee. Snapping his vision back to the gold unit, Shinji pulled one arm away from the knife and slapped it over the face plate. There was no blast. He held his breath.

“One hundred meters!” The left arm of the gold angel twitched, slowly starting to rise up. In a lightning motion, Shinji plunged the knife down, severed the limb at the elbow and pushed the faceplate to the side, deflecting a point blank energy blast into the sky. 

“NOW!” Irantu shouted. Shinji reacted instantly and rammed his knife into the core with a sickening crunch. There was simultaneous bang from several armor piercing auto cannons and both halves of the angel instantly stopped moving. There was silence as Shinji stood up from the battle wiping the sweat away from his eyes. But as he moved to walk away the corpses of the angel suddenly began to swell. Shinji’s eyes widened as he felt his AT field return to full strength. Leaping towards the other body, he scooped up the Samsara team and turned away from their kill as the bodies of the angels exploded in a massive rush of heat and light. Shinji held the team tighter as the superheated energy raged around him bouncing off his AT field and devastating the mountain side. He was still clutching all four members of Samsara tightly when the fire storm finally died down leaving them in a blasted crater. Shinji sat back in his seat and slowly let the bruised, but alive Tau 5 team back onto the ground. He needed a breather after that. Craning his head towards the sky, Shinji smiled a little as a fleet of helicopters crested the nearby ridge, setting down around them. As he watched the cleanup crews begin to exit their aircraft, Irantu turned back and gave a quick salute in his direction. Shinji didn’t have the strength to raise his arm and gave a silent nod. 

……..

With one final push, the drill bit broke through the hardened magma into the liquid pocket. Kaworu stared intently at the screen as the beaten up drill was pulled up. He took off his hat as a warm, late morning breeze rustled his hair. The makeshift drilling station had been set up in a rush over the last few days. The outpost was really nothing more than a few tents and trailer offices surrounding the central rig. Yet as always with Foundation operations, appearances were deceiving. In a locked truck in the center of the camp, right next to the drilling rig, guarded around the clock, was a weapon that the O5’s hoped would be able to neutralize the eighth angel, Sandalphon. The anomalous pocket of liquid magma had grown considerably since O5-2 first reported on it a week ago. By Kaworu’s estimate Sandalphon was almost ready to emerge. 

In the end, the council had decided against dropping a few dozen reality anchors down a hole. While such an operation would indeed knock out the angel’s AT field and stun it for a while, Kaworu estimated that it wouldn’t actually destroy him. Sandolphon’s ability to survive in magma was down to his biology which the reality anchors wouldn't actually be able to change. In fact Sandolphon’s unique resistance to heat and pressure was so potent that progressive weaponry was rendered useless against its carapace. Instead whatever was in that truck was supposed to replicate the effects of the original way that the angel had been defeated, by subjecting its armor to a shock cooling, thereby weakening its body to the point where a follow up strike would dissolve its carapace. Unfortunately Kaworu had no idea what this entailed as the council was characteristically silent on the whole matter. Pulling away from the screen, Kaworu walked over to the rest of the command station where Tallerin stood, staring at the drilling rig. There was a small commotion at the platform as the drill head was finally pulled up into view. The metal teeth had been almost ground down, and the tungsten casing was dented and beat up. 

Tallerin stepped forwards to address the workers. “Quickly! Get the device in place!” There was nod from the engineers on the lower drilling platform. A second later a beeping sound filled the air as the large armored truck was slowly backed up into position. Without a word, the guards unlocked the rear door and pulled it open. Kaworu leaned over the safety railing on the command platform to see what was inside. A crane was moved over and was hooked onto something. The winch spun into motion and the device was finally extracted from its protective shell. It had a circular cross section of the same diameter as the drill bit, but was much, much longer. Near the front end was a large metal bulb that seemed detachable from the main body, which looked vaguely like a cannon barrel that had been sealed off by the smaller piece. Curiously, despite the warm day, Kaworu noticed a thick layer of frost on the frontal bulb, and any personnel that approached it pulled their jackets tighter around them. 

The drill crew were quick to secure the back end of the device onto the cable and positioned the new device over the well. There was an alarm behind Kaworu and he turned to look. 

“Hume sensors are detecting movement!” A technician shouted. “The angel is active!” 

Tallerin cursed and shouted back towards the drilling crew. “Target is on move! We need the device in position now! We are out of time!” 

Kaworu leaned over the technician’s shoulder and glanced at the screen. The liquid pocket was around five hundred meters across and roughly oval shaped. Despite their proximity to Site 2000 and the corresponding super volcano, a pocket of magma this close to the surface was still highly unusual. There was a heat map of hume levels in the portion of liquid rock, with the blob of highest concentration now swimming in a rapid figure eight pattern through the magma. A whirring sound came from the rig as the new device was plunged into the well. Kaworu walked back to the site director. 

“What exactly is in this device?” He asked slowly, watching the drilling cable spool out into the hole. Tallerin gave a look of surprise.  
“Didn’t the council tell you?” She cocked an eyebrow. 

Kaworu shook his head. “Unfortunately, there are still some things that the council hides, even from me.”  
The site director looked shocked before she gave a sly smile, but quickly suppressed it. “Well, here’s what I was told about it.” She produced a few sheets of paper and waved them in Kaworu’s direction. Taking it from the director’s hands, the silver haired doctor scanned over the documents. Sure enough the main assembly was a high pressure cannon that was loaded with several progressive flechette darts. These were to be fired into the angel after his structure had been weakened by the forward, rounded device which was SCP 2966. Kaworu flipped the page over to the documentation for the specified anomaly and stifled a giggle. SCP 2966, the secret that the O5’s had tried to keep him from knowing about, the superweapon that was going to bring down Sandalphon…..was a roll of toilet paper. 

Of course nothing with an SCP designation was ever normal, and SCP 2966 was certainly not an ordinary roll of toilet paper. The object was able to absorb ambient thermal energy to concentrate into new sheets of material. Kaworu smiled at the genius of it. By exploiting the simple law of physics of mass energy equivalence, the roll of toilet paper was effectively able to drop the inside of a volcano to near absolute zero just by being put inside. 

“Weapon has reached the target!” The technician called. Instantly on the screen, the spot of high hume levels changed course and began swimming towards the insertion point. 

“Detach forward warhead!” Tallerin ordered. The operator nodded and pressed a key on their control panel. There was a pause before a second monitor flickered to life, showing the view inside the magma from the forward capsule. Through the murky and grainy picture, the unmistakable dark silhouette of Sandolphon grew larger. The technician’s fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up another window.  
“Impact in ten!” She shouted.   
“Get ready to blow the vacuum seal.” Tallerin ordered. 

Kaworu held his breath as the flattened head of his sibling came into clearer view. Its two appendages closing around the camera, the circular maw opening ever wider until-

“NOW!” The site director shouted. The technician mashed the enter key. On the screen there was a small explosion as the outer casing was blown away a split second before the picture was engulfed by the angel’s mouth. Silence hung in the warm air for a minute. Then the numbers across all sensors began to drop.

“The device is beginning to take effect! Temperature and angel structural integrity are dropping!” the Technician reported. Sure enough cracks had begun to appear on the visible portion of Sandolphon’s body as its armor strained under the sudden change in temperature. The entire liquid pocket began to cool rapidly

“Fire the darts now! Or else we’ll just be shooting into solid stone!” Tallerin yelled. There was an affirmative and another series of key presses. On screen the Hume readings began to flicker as each dart struck home, tearing through the angel’s AT field and piercing the embrittled armor. Shot by shot, Hume and AT levels dropped. On the screen, the jaw of Sandolphon slipped away from the camera revealing the massive injuries to his body, pieces of carapace had been torn away, and the angel was no longer in one solid piece. Kaworu pursed his lips as Sandolphon’s broken body drifted away in the cooling magma, slowly falling apart. The three of them continued to stare at the disintegrating angel until the hume readings had returned to baseline. 

The site director was the first to let go of the makeshift desk, her knuckles completely white from her grip on the edge. Kaworu let out a sigh as the rest of the magma coagulated into solid stone, blocking the camera out again. There was no way his brother had survived. His thoughts were interrupted by another of Tallerin’s orders. 

“Get the drill bit back on and find that capsule! That device contained a volatile anomaly, we have eight hours to retrieve it before it goes critical.” 

Kaworu frowned and flipped through the sheaf of papers again. His eyes widened as he read the lines about what would happen to the roll of toilet paper if not used. The exact yield had been redacted, but was in thousands of megatons. Silently he nodded to himself that it would be best if they retrieved SCP 2966 from the solidified rock as soon as possible. 

……..

It was well into the night when the drill finally pulled up gripping onto the inner capsule containing SCP 2966. Despite having been submerged in molten rock, the smooth carbon egg was still frosty. The anomaly was quickly locked back into the armored truck where ten sheets of paper were removed from the roll, averting an explosion the size of Second Impact. As the temporary operation site was packed away, Kaworu stalked back to the armored personnel carrier that had brought him here and clambered into one of the seats. There was a buzzing in his pocket, and the angel removed his phone to be greeted with an O5 call. Kaworu poked his head out the rear bay doors. No one else seemed to be approaching the vehicle at the moment. He pulled his head back in and closed the door behind him. Sitting back down he connected to the call. O5-2’s designation flashed on the screen. 

“Good evening Doctor Clef,” Her synthesized voice sounded uncharacteristically small coming from phone speakers. 

“Good evening Overseer, I am pleased to report that Sandolphon has been neutralized and SCP 2966 is enroute back to containment.”

O5-2 was silent for a moment before responding. “Where did you learn of the nature of the device?” 

“Director Tallerin informed me.” Kaworu replied. “Something the council seemed to have neglected.”

“Yes, an unfortunate oversight.” O5-2 admitted. Although Kaworu wasn’t so sure if it was. At any rate he decided to change the topic. “Regarding the seventh angel.” Kaworu said. “I heard that the operation with Samsara was a success.”

“Indeed it was.” The Overseer confirmed. “SCP 6079, its pilot and the entire Tau-5 team have been safely returned to site 47.”  
Kaworu smiled internally. Shinji was safe, they had cleared another two hurdles. “Alright,” Kaworu said. “I will be heading back to site 47 with the Director shortly.” 

“No, you will not.” O5-2 countered. Kaworu’s eyebrows knitted together. O5-2 continued “Unfortunately, it appears that our time table has been shifted up further than we have planned. At about 17:30 today, a large Hume spike was detected moving east across the border hills.” Several pictures appeared on his phone. Kaworu squinted as he magnified the satellite landscapes. Overlaid across mundane images of slopes, peaks and valleys was a large, thin X shape with an ovular region located at the center. No, it wasn’t a perfect X, one of the prongs was longer, sticking out further, almost like a leg…

“Recognize the shape?” O5-2 prodded. Kaworu swallowed and nodded.

“It’s Matarael.”He said after a long pause. “How far is she?” 

O5-2 cleared her throat before speaking. “Matarael is currently being intercepted.” Kaworu scrunched his eyebrows. “I thought you said Unit 01 and Shinji were back at Site 47?” 

“Tau-5 and the anomalies are indeed at Site 47,” O5-2 replied. “Matarael is being engaged by our more....fanatical friends.” The image of the Sarkics and their pale, bloodied Eva unit entered Kaworu’s mind. “You are to go to the intercept point and make sure that they do not attempt any extraneous operations beyond the neutralization of the ninth angel.” As the overseer said this, a commotion started up outside in response to what sounded like a strong wind. Kaworu stood up and popped open the back door again. In the distance, about two hundred meters away, was a large Foundation helicopter touching down on the grass.

“It seems that your ride is here.” O5-2 observed from the phone. “Report back once the operation is complete.” The line went dead. Pushing himself out of the personnel carrier, Kaworu donned his hat and began a hurried walk towards the chopper.

……..

Researcher Heian collapsed into her couch. The soft cushions were a welcome feeling after a long day on her feet. Looking around, Heian sighed in contentedness. A few years of loyal service to the Foundation had earned her a small but cozy apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was a wonderful sight after confronting the apocalypse on a daily basis. After SCP 6079 had returned from its sortie, Heian had been inundated with new data from the combat. Limb stability, weapon performance and a thousand other metrics were dumped onto her lap. As a result the rest of the day was spent sorting through data trying to find any previously undetected issues that to be fixed or upgraded. The engineering team had gone to work quickly, swapping out damaged pieces of armor and equipment for new ones as well as tending to the wounds on the organic components. As for the pilot, the child had been tired, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Out of sympathy, Heian had cancelled all planned operations for that day to let the anomaly rest. Tossing her lab coat and tie into a corner, the junior researcher propped her head on a pillow. Rest, that sounded good right about now. Her eyes began to close and she was just about to drift off before a sudden buzzing jolted her back to consciousness. Cursing, Heian propped herself up and reached for her phone. The tri-arrow shield of the Foundation appeared as she sleepily slapped her fingerprint into the scanner. The call connected.

“Huello?” She said groggily. “This is Junior Researcher Heian.”

“Uhm, this is the Site 47 biology lab, calling about the test results on the organic sample you recently submitted.” A timid voice came over the other end of the line. The researcher’s eyes snapped open. The hair! Sitting up straighter she cleared her throat. “Um, yeah, what did you find out?”

“Well,” the lab tech began “The organic battery came back normal, on a genetic level it’s just a normal human hair, albeit there are some aberrations with the sex chromosomes.” Heian nodded. Clef did seem to match the features for a sole Y expressive phenotype, in fact SCP 6079-1 was the same; she wondered if there was some connection.   
“But the really interesting part actually DID come from the wavefunction cartographer.” The lab tech’s voice had suddenly become excited. “I had to get a level four para-physics doctor to look over my results, but I can confirm these readings. The particles that compose the hair have wavefunctions that do not collapse!” Heian stared blankly at the phone. 

“So…..?” Physics had not been her area of strength in school.

“That’s the anomaly!” The lab tech shouted. “It’s impossible for a particle to have an un-collapsed wave function while being observed.” Heian blinked. So Clef was anomalous because of some weird physics? She had hoped for something that would tell her more about how they were connected to SCP 6079, or the angels.

“Did you find anything else?” She asked, hoping that there was more.

“Actually yes.” The technician responded. “I looked through the site database to see if we had any similar anomalies, and it turns out that all the ‘angels’, organic parts of SCP 6079, and Tau-5 samsara share this same anomaly, but SCP 6079-1 -the child- doesn’t.” Heian scrunched her eyebrows. Did that mean the Celf was also a product of artificial design? Was this doctor not just an agent of the council, but also the product of another one of their secret weapon programs? She was just about to ask when the other side of the conversation spoke again. “But going by the exact genetics and the wavefunction the constituent particles have, I would have to group this hair in with those angels, in fact it’s almost a perfect match.” Heian’s mouth was suddenly very dry. 

“Are you sure?” She croaked out. 

“Yeah,” The lab tech replied. “After looking through the data and double checking it, I am very positive, this hair definitely belongs to an angel. I guess it’s a good thing they have the anomaly in containment huh.” Heian wasn’t listening anymore.

“Yeah, thanks.” She hurriedly concluded the call and hung up. The phone fell from her hand. Was it possible? Was it possible that there had been an angel right under their noses this entire time masquerading as a human? She had entertained the thought before that Clef was an angel, but now it was real. There was unmistakable proof. Could they even have fooled the O5 council? Site 47 had been the target or at least in the path of every angel they had defeated, and finally, there was one that had beaten them, it had snaked past all of their defenses and integrated itself almost perfectly with the workings of the site. In fact, given the long history Clef had with the O5’s, they might have even been the first angel to appear. Cold sweat dripped down her face. But why hadn’t the child mentioned this angel? Every single otherworldly monstrosity that had come stomping through the hills had been detailed perfectly by SCP 6079-1. There were two possibilities: Either Clef was an entirely new angel unique to this universe, or even in SCP 6079’s universe they had been deceived as well. In fact SCP 6079-1 had never told her what happened after his organization, NERV, had defeated all the angels. If they had. A terrible realization began dawning in Heian’s mind. It was entirely likely that whatever Clef really was had finished the job in their old world, and had now come to this one to continue that work. Heian shook as she stared blankly at the room that suddenly didn’t seem so comforting anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I used SCP 2966, the infinite toilet paper roll, mainly because I wanted to show off some more anomalies that don't seem useful as weapons on the surface, but with the creativity of the Foundation, they can be put to new uses.


	11. The Choices We Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way to his latest assignment by the O5 council, Kaworu takes a serious look back at all the choices that led him to where he's at. However other developments are happening in the here and now. The Sarkic sect has grown in power, and the ninth angel is their newest prey.

The world had ended, After millenia of planning and prophecy, the instrumentality of human souls had come to pass. The fruit of knowledge and the fruit of life had become one within Lilith and it was her soul that guided the world into the Third Impact. Except it wasn’t. The soul of Lilith, which had known itself as Rei Ayanami, gave the responsibility to a boy who had shown her kindness in a world that did not. It was this soul that made a choice, a choice to return from the sea of souls and to grant the Lilin a second chance. A choice of forgiveness and of a promise to do better.

The soul of Adam that knew itself as Kaworu Nagisa was aware of this. He had also made a promise of his own during instrumentality to return to Shinji and try to make amends. Yet when Kaworu felt his essence serparting from the sea of souls he awoke to a world that was not his own. The body that he inhabited was identical to the one he had possessed before his death at the hand of Unit 01. There was no sign of Lilith, her favored children, or Adam. Insticutally Kaworu knew that this was not his universe. As the Angel of Free Will, Kaworu was aware of other realities at a faint unconscious level. He was vaguely aware of the existence of parallel versions of himself, versions that experienced slight variations of what he had. But this reality was beyond anything he had familiarity with. Without reference or purpose, Kaworu did the only thing he could do, he walked. Not knowing the nature of this world, he thought it best not to draw suspicion, and so Kaworu pulled the light of his soul close, keeping it tightly knit around his heart.

It was four days before he saw signs of Lilin civilization. It was a road, paved with concrete cutting through the forested hills he had been traversing. He followed it by night, hiding from vehicles by day. There was no telling what the condition of this world was; from his own presence it was clear the third impact had affected their reality as well. As a result, Kaworu was not keen to find out what they would do if they realized his true nature. It was another four days of walking before he discovered a town. It had clearly seen better days, with rundown buildings and limited infrastructure, but it afforded him a place to begin integrating into the society of this world. The angel first realized the extent of third impact when he entered the town wearing some rags he had scavenged. It was not his disheveled appearance that drew the crimson stares of many of the townsfolk, many of whom were just as unfortunate and ill kept as he was. Likewise, Kaworu couldn’t help but to stare back at the world of pale skin and blue hair that greeted him. He pondered the question for weeks, even after acquiring basic provisions and a small living space, at the end he still had no answers to the question of why every single human had the exact appearance of Rei Ayanami.  
Kaworu’s first encounter with the Foundation was about a month after coming to reside in the town. Three doors down in the rundown apartment lived an individual that possessed abilities that ordinary Lilim did not. Kaworu had stretched out his own AT field carefully and found this person was merely a regular human. Yet their abilities defied the natural laws of the world. On that night, Kaworu heard a commotion in the hallway, and looked through his peephole to see a screaming woman being dragged away by several armed soldiers. Their uniforms had no letters or logos that Kaworu could make out, and the peephole was quickly obscured by a gloved hand. He sat awake for the rest of the night pondering this. Kaworu’s second encounter with the Foundation was also his last day of freedom. (If being forcibly placed into an alien universe with no resources or guidance could be considered freedom.) It was an act of self defense, there had been an out of control truck barreling down the street, Kaworu saw it when it was a mere fifty meters away, with no hope of avoiding it in time. There was a flash of orange light, and Kaworu felt the metal crumple and jolt to a stop against his barrier. It was only for a split second, but it was enough for the Foundation to find him anyway that night.

The facility they took him to was deep in the mountains and concealed from all the surrounding towns. Kaworu complied as he was led through the pristine corridors and locked inside of a high security cell. There were humming cylindrical rods embedded in the walls, and he found that he could no longer project his AT field. It was at this point that he realized something else, something so subtle that he wasn’t even aware it existed until it was suddenly gone. The call of Lilith had disappeared. As soon as he entered the cell, it was as if a deep craving inside his soul had vanished, it was like waking up from a nightmare to find that one was not drawing after all. His elation at this relief was short lived as the implications of this dawned on him. If he had felt the call while in this world, it meant that Lilith, or a substantial portion of her, had also crashed onto this Earth. If he had been reconstituted, did that mean the other angels would be reborn as well? Kaworu pondered these questions over the next few days as the Foundation began to perform their tests and experiments. They took skin, flesh, and blood; they tested his abilities in contrived exercises; they poked, prodded, and scanned him with all their tools. Then there were the questions. They were clean, analytical, precise, not unlike the way SEELE conducted their inquiries. They asked him about his abilities, about his origins and about what he knew of the Foundation. Kawaoru answered all of their questions truthfully, he could see from the way they operated that retribution was not something the Foundation sought. As time passed, Kaworu grew accustomed to the endless interviews and unceasing experiments. It would be a half a year before something else occurred. 

Kaworu awoke on that fateful morning the same way he had for the past six months. He still chose to sleep during the prescribed hours of the night to keep in touch with the more human part of his nature. He went through his daily rituals the same way he had done for the past half year and had just sat down to read when the cell door opened. A squad of heavily armed guards stepped in, each one had the shield of the Foundation emblazoned on vests. Behind them was a scientist in a white lab coat. Kaworu was put into cuffs and taken down a long set of hallways, winding through the labyrinth of corridors, getting lower and lower until they reached a large, open chamber. At the bottom of the empty room was a small metal bunker. Kaworu was taken down and locked inside. The interior was lined with more of those pillars and several large monitors. Slowly, the low power red lights gave way to brighter fluorescent illumination. Simultaneously they cylindrical devices in the walls of the bunker spun up again, each emitting a high pitched ping as they reached full power. Then the monitors switched on. Each displayed a blank white background, with the only picture being the symbols O5, followed by a number from one to thirteen. The memory of standing in front of the SEELE monoliths came back to his mind. 

“Hello SCP 6592” A synthesized voice emerged from speakers embedded into the walls, at the same time the O5-1 monitor displayed a small microphone symbol.

“Hello.” Kaworu replied formulaically. 

“As you have almost certainly gathered by now, your unique nature and knowledge have made you quite the object of interest to our Foundation.” O5-1 continued. “But I do not wish to waste time with formalities, do you know what these objects are?” O5-1’s designation disappeared from the screen and was replaced by a still image of a dark space. In the center of the picture, its pinnacle disappearing into the gloom was one half of a truly gargantuan skull. The picture changed. Now it was a closeup of the chin. Shallowly buried into the bone, was a two tined crimson spear made from two woven strands. O5-1 returned. “Do you know the nature of those two objects?” 

“The skull belongs to the being known as Lilith, and the weapon is the Spear of Longinus.” Kaworu responded susciently. There was murmur from a few of the other people before O5-1 quieted them down. 

“And am I correct in surmising that these two objects originated from the same reality that you did?” Kaworu was silent for a moment. “Yes,” he finally said. “These two entities are from the same world as I am.” 

“And what,” O5-1 pressed. “Is the function of either of these items?” Kaworu considered his options before him. Hiding information from these O5’s would be nigh impossible, with such a massive organization seemingly answering to them, they would be able to deduced Lilith’s nature eventually. With deception being impossible, Kaworu took a deep breath and began to elaborate. He detailed what he knew about the seeds of life and their immense reality warping powers, he outlined the function of the spear and the way it subdued all beings that were descended from either seed, and he explained the angels, the children of adam and their conflict against the Lilin of his old world. And Kaworu revealed his own identity and the events of the third impact. When it was over he had told the O5 council, in broad strokes, everything he knew about the nature of the seeds of life and their offspring. Everything except Shinji. The seventeenth angel still held out hope that the third child would not have been subject to the universal reshuffling, although he knew that it was unlikely. When Shinji ended up in this universe (if he ended up here at all) Kaworu did not want for his love to be weaponized against him. SEELE had already done that when they had sent him to NERV as the fifth child and put Shinji in his path. Now that Kaworu was living by a promise he made, he would not allow it to happen again. 

As for the O5’s, they seemed satisfied with the answers the silver haired angel had given, there were a few more sporadic questions from some of the other council members before O5-1 brought the conference back to decorum and made a proposition. 

“SCP 6592, you have shown excellent cooperation with our efforts in the past six months and have demonstrated a willingness to share information that is beneficial to our mission. From your interviews and statements, it seems that despite not identifying with baseline humanity, you prefer living in human society as well as preserving what you term ' The Achievements of The Lilin.”

Kaworu nodded in response.

“Then will you accept this council’s offer to become an agent of the Foundation to aid us in the fulfillment of our mission? You will no longer be a prisoner, but a full employee, with the freedom that goes along with it.” Memories of SEELE rushed back into Kaworu’s mind. He was under no illusion that by agreeing to this, he would become a pawn of a powerful council again. But he was also aware that the Foundation and its vast resources were the best way he had of returning to his world. And if Shinji ever did make it here, Kaworu needed to be able to protect him. The silver haired angel looked up with a determined gaze.

“I will take it.” 

……..

An announcement from the helicopter pilot snapped Kaworu out of his memory. He picked off his hat and squeezed the bridge of his nose. Those memories were all so long ago. In the intervening time he had done so much to accelerate the O5’s designs and to prepare the Foundation for the return of his siblings. He had never dared to believe that Shinji would truly arrive. Kaworu pulled himself up and peered out of the porthole. Now, all those plans would be set into motion. Outside the first rays of dawn were peaking above the horizon. Contrasted against the rose colored sky, a long black line bent and stretched as Matarael took another impossibly long stride “Sarkic presence has been confirmed!” the Pilot reported. “We’re setting down about a kilometer from the angel’s southernmost leg.”

Kaworu gripped his hat as he stepped out of the aircraft and onto the grassy slope. Turning back, he gave a quick nod to the pilot and climbed to the top of the ridge as the aircraft lifted off again. Matatrael’s oval body was positioned right in front of his view, the decoy eyes blindly staring out in all directions. As the foundation doctor watched, one slender leg was lifted off its hilltop perch and shifted half a kilometer forwards before slamming down again. The rest of the angel quickly followed, the bowl shaped body pulled as if gliding along just above the ground. Kaworu closed his eyes and tried to perceive the nearby AT fields. First there was Matarael’s. It was quiet, calm, and loosely spread beneath her eye; a fitting cloak for the angel of rain. Beyond that, directly due East was a gathering of humans, their AT fields were dim and pulled tightly around their hearts, except for one. One among the dozens stood out, her patterns and soul projected forwards against the world. Despite the lack of strength in Lilin AT fields, hers still shined like a beacon. Kaworu had encountered such an individual before on the eve of Shamshel’s death. That was her, the Karcist, leader of the Sarkic cult. Kaworu’s feet lifted off the ground as he turned to face the direction of the gathering. With a push of his soul, the silver haired angel glided across the air, outpacing his larger sibling and coming to a rest on the slopes right next to the cult gathering. Cresting the rest of the hill on foot, Kaworu came over the ridge to see the Karcist addressing her followers again. Her cloak had been changed from a dark brown to a brilliant purple, and on her face, she still wore the seven eyed lunar mask of Lilith. She sensed him almost instantly and whipped her head around.

“Ah! It seems that the final Archon has seen it fit to grace us with its presence once again!” The Karcist mocked as she removed the mask, revealing her fangs and viscous eyes.

The rest of the gathering was still nervous, but less so than last time. The confidence of their leader bolstering their own morale. “Give no praise or fear unto the Archon!” The Karcist continued, turning back to her flock. “With our will, even the Demiurge herself will be made blind and powerless!” Kaworu recognized the words as scripture, words that he had come across in his long service to the Foundation. “As it was foretold, humanity would come to master the flesh of the dread angels. And thus we would fell each Archon in turn. Today, we will claim another victory against the dark powers of the cosmos, the titan hungers!” As the sermon concluded, a cheer went up from the crowd gathered below. Kaworu winced as he felt a new AT field explode into existence nearby. A white eyeless head reared up over a ridge, with the lips curling into a smile. The Karcist grinned her toothy smile and gave the command. 

Instantly the Evangelion obeyed and broke into a sprint towards Matarael, the winds buffeting the whole gathering. Kaworu gripped his hat tightly as the titan approached Matarael’s lowered and vulnerable body. Suddenly, the angel’s legs twitched and the bowl shaped mass was lifted high into the sky, the Sarkic titan leaped as it reached the summit of a small mound, but missed as the center mass rapidly accelerated upwards. Kaworu breathed in deeply. He had never been too sure about the mobility of Matarael, his sister had been defeated as she was stationary above central dogma; but now on an open field, the spider-like angel was showing her true abilities. The massively long legs meant that not only could she easily lift her core out of reach of any melee attacks, but that by the time an attacker had started running in the direction of one of the limbs, it would have already been moved out of reach. There was a bubbling from the central eye, before a rain of corrosive tears plummeted towards the Evangelion. The Sarkic titan rolled as the corrosive deluge melted through the small hill it had been standing on just a moment before. Moving silently, Matarael pivoted her body to track the path of her enemy. The white eva broke out into a run, staying ahead of the stream of orange liquid pouring down right behind. Kaworu narrowed his eyes. It would seem that the Sarkics and their lack of ranged weaponry had finally caught up with them. If they could not destroy Matatrael then he would have his own duties to perform. The titan accelerated as it reached the base of a nearby slope and banked, turning around to race towards the nearest leg. Matarael’s gaze seemed to follow its target and Kaworu saw the spindly form shift its weight towards the other limbs. The thin, psike like foot was lifted out of the dirt as the Eva crested the hill. The titan made a desperate running leap, but the angel’s leg was already far out of reach and its pale body crashed into the dirt on the other side. Matarael’s attention seemed to pull away from its dazed adversary and continued its slow methodical plodding towards its destination. Kaworu pulled his hat low and extended his AT field again underneath his feet. He could not wait around for the Karcist’s fanatical mission to fail, Matarael’s advancement so far had not been impeded in any way, and he had to stop his sister before she got any further. Kaworu felt his feet lift off the ground again and began to drift forwards before he turned to see the titan had gotten up and was now charging towards him. With a titanic bang, the Evangelion bounced off of Kaworu’s octagonal barrier, before rebounding and slamming into it again. The last angel snapped his gaze onto the Karcist whose face was contorted into one of resentful rage.

“STAY OUT OF THIS ARCHON, IF YOU VIOLATE THE SANCTITY OF THIS RITUAL, THEN YOU WILL BE DESTROYED AS WELL!” With his AT field at maximum power, there was no way that the Sarkic’s Evangelion would be able to actually harm him, the titan’s own barrier was too weak compared to his. However the prospect of fighting both his sister and a rampaging Eva unit with a S2 engine was most definitely not conducive to his current mission. With a slight frown, he lowered himself to the ground and took a long step back. Instantly the titan stopped mid charge and strided back to its master, crouching down with its back turned to the Karcist. 

The cult leader strode up to the bony protrusion between the immense shoulders and placed a clawed hand on the surface.

“With the flesh of the Devourer, she made her armor.” The prayer was in the tone of a whisper, but it carried loud and clear over the wind to Kaworu’s ears. There was a sickening shlocking sound and the bony cap retracted, revealing a dark gaping hole directly into the titan’s spinal column. Without a sound of protest or shock from her followers, The Karcist leaped into the dark void and the bony cap came back down behind her. Kaworu’s eyes widened, direct synchronization without any sort of interface was considered impossible. Kaworu himself was able to do it because he possessed the soul of Adam, however it should have been impossible for an ordinary Lilin. There was silence for a few moments before the titan suddenly lurched forwards and let loose an earthshaking roar. The makeshift dummy system had been overridden, now the Karcsit was in full control. With lightning speed the titan swung its elongated snout around in the direction of the angel. Its face was no longer a smile, but a rabid frenzy with teeth bared, hungry for the kill. In the commotion Matarael had already gotten far ahead. By Kaworu’s estimate there was at least a few kilometers between the near berserking Eva and its prey. Crouching down, the titan broke into a mad sprint, its clawed hands ripping up the landscape around it as it barreled towards the nearest slender leg. The elongated limb began to lift as before, but the titan was faster this time, using its AT field to rocket off the ground, the Karcist managed to barely grab onto the end of the foot with one hand. Instantly Matarael jerked, her center of gravity thrown off. The angel flailed the grappled limb, trying to shake its adversary and it stumbled backwards. Another leg made a backstep, rebalancing the spindly figure with an earthshaking thud. The karcist let out a harsh, guttural roar and swung the other arm up, grabbing the limb as well. The titan opened its jaw and bit into the leg, allowing the Karcist to pull the legs of the Evangelion around the angel’s splindily appendage. The Eva displodged its teeth from the angel and howled in triumph as it began to climb up the angel.

Matarael’s eye swiveled in its socket and focused on the adversary that had now managed to clamber onto her leg. Kaworu could see his sibling angel shift her weight again, bracing with the other three limbs, Matarael’s entire body tensed before her compromised limb flexed in a blindingly swift kick. The titan was launched from its opponent, its massive pale body outlined clearly against the still dark sky, soaring in an almost perfect parabola. As it tumbled through the air, its body seemed to almost change in shape. Kaworu squinted, no,something was definitely happening to the Evangelion. There was a large bulge beginning to form on the back of the titan, and as it plummeted towards the ground, the sack of pale pink tissue bulged larger and larger. At the last moment, the massive cyst exploded revealing a pair of vast white wings that instantly caught the wind. The titan banked as its fall became a glide, narrowly missing the ground. The Karcist maneuvered its head back around to face the angel. Matarael had now stabilized her gait, and locked her eye onto the gliding enemy. Her legs flexed again, and the central ovullar body was lifted high into the sky, shifting to be over the titan. Kaworu watched as the Karcist seemed to be gliding directly into the path of the angel's attack. As the first droplets of the corrosive tears fell, he suddenly noticed that a shimmer was building up beneath the body of the evangelion. With a start he realized the Karcist was pulling the same trick of compressing her AT field behind her like a spring. Kaworu held his breath as the stream of tears came ever closer to its target. There was an ear splitting bang and the titan instantly rocketed upwards at a sharp, seventy degree angle, Matarael had no time to even react, and there was a thunderous crash as the titan's bulk smashed into Matarael’s central body. The angel teetered and swayed for a second, its legs flexing, seemingly recovering balance. Then the limb closest to the body snapped and in an instant the angel and Evangelion were falling together from the heavens. Matarael’s body crumpled on impact, tremoring the earth under Kaworu’s feet as its weight smaled back into the ground at terminal velocity. In the blink of an eye, the titan was over the broken form of its adversary, tearing and ripping into the twitching form, digging for the core. There was a distant cracking sound and Matarael’s limbs stopped twitching. With a cacophonous cheer from the assembled cultists, The bloodied, eye less head slowly emerged from its grizzly work and turned to the heavens, letting loose a thunderous roar of triumph into the early morning sky, Its immense wings casting the surrounding hills in shadow against the rising sun. 

……..

It was late afternoon by the time Kaworu had been airlifted back to site 47 and debriefed. The seventeenth angel slowly walked through the halls of site 47, glazed in an amber glow. He made a final turn down a narrow corridor, before swiping his keycard and entering his onsite dormitory where he removed his hat, putting it up on a rack and collapsed back into a rolling chair. There had been two disturbing revelations this day. First and foremost was the increasing power of the Sarkic sect. The ability to override a dummy control system that was still inserted, as well as having a synch ratio high enough to force an Evangelion into berserk mode, demonstrated that this Karcist was not just a clueless zealot. She had real knowledge about the angels and the seeds of life, powerful knowledge that rivaled even his own. Kaworu wasn’t sure if he would even be able to push an Evangelion into berserk mode if he tried. At any rate due to unit-01 being cloned from Lilith, he didn’t have the resources to test this hypothesis at the moment. 

The second revelation was the growing distrust the Overseers had begun to harbor for him. They would have probably already surmised that Shinji was not just an acquaintance, but someone of deep importance to the silver haired angel, someone that Kaworu had formulated an alternate agenda with. Of course it was logical for the Council to react as it did. The Overseers were not individuals filled with empathy or bursting with kindness and understanding. They were cold, methodical, and always paranoid. It was this attitude that had allowed them to claw their way to the pinnacle of power and it took the same attitude to keep it. Kaworu was aware that the council had been suspicious of his closeness towards the pilot, but the omission of vital operational information against Sandolphon showed him that he was now being cut out of the innermost circle. Of course he was not in any immediate danger of being thrown away, but he knew that if he continued to make his plans this blatantly known, then it was only a matter of time before he fell out of the council’s good graces. 

There was also the issue of his remaining siblings. Currently, the destruction of the children of Adam were the only thing holding together the disparate groups vying for control over the body of Lilith. Six messengers had already fallen, some of them destroyed with relative ease. Unfortunately, his next six siblings would prove to be a much greater challenge. They had been to NERV at least, with every angel from ten to sixteen nearly claiming victory, only to be defeated by a miracle. Kaworu himself had even reached terminal dogma. Now that remaining angels were advancing faster, the world was facing an unprecedented storm. The seventeenth angel had a feeling that none of them would be as willing to surrender at the last second as he had been.

He stood up and walked over to the small square window that faced into the setting sun. The color was nearly identical to the ocean of LCL that had resulted from third impact. The journey from that point to today had taken the angel of free will through a long road with many, many choices. He was close to fulfilling his goal now, to bring true happiness to the one he loved. Kaworu smiled and for the first time in his strange, complicated and oftentimes interrupted life, he felt a call of his own, a call that countered the desire to merge with Lilith and return to oblivion, a call born out of the purpose that he had made for himself. The promise he had made was no longer purely an exercise in self control, but it was now a unique drive that Kaworu felt in his soul. He sat there for a long time, calmly staring out into the sunset deep in the mountains. For the first time, the divine messenger of choices and decisions was happy with the ones he had made himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a flashback section in this chapter, I tried to make it as short as possible and build some character during it, I promise that the resolution to the cliffhangers from chapter 10 will be revealed in the next chapter.


	12. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the truth of Kaworu's identity in her hands, researcher Heian decides to confront Shinji about his past.

Researcher Heian sat trembling in the darkened control room. She had not gotten any sleep the previous night after the call from the biology lab, and after a few gallons of very dark coffee, her hands were shaking so much that she could barely write on a notepad. Thankfully the results from the wavefunction cartographer had not been released to anyone else besides her, and Clef had still not returned from their mission despite the neutralization of the ninth angel. Thoughts swirled in her head as she stared blankly out at the massive inert cyborg. As was normal for non-testing hours, the armored overlook was empty, However, outside in the containment bay, the engineers were continuing their repair operations on the weapon. Currently a large dented chest plate was being lifted off of the torso with a roof crane. Heian turned back to the paper in front of her. She was supposed to be sorting through SCP 6079’s combat data at the moment, but she had decided that working on that was impossible in her current state. Instead, laid out on the paper in front of her was an ocean of scribbles detailing various plans of action she could undertake about this discovery. Clef was an angel, one that had penetrated all of their defenses and was probably very close to getting what they wanted. Heian silently cursed herself for never asking the child what the angel’s were after. However from the other interviews, she had gotten the idea that if the angels obtained their goal, it would result in some sort of K class scenario. Heian had decided that if an angel had already gotten this far, then any higher ups might have already been compromised; so far her best plan of action was to inform two other individuals that she knew she could trust. One was Captain Brigetson, and the other was SCP 6079 -1. Despite the closeness the silver haired doctor and the anomaly seemed to share, Heian hoped that once the true nature of Clef was revealed, SCP 6079-1 would ultimately choose to help the Foundation. After all, if anyone knew what damage the angels could do, it was them. Running the plan over one last time in her head, Heian stood up and walked out of the command room. 

The junior researcher immediately headed for SCP 6079-1’s containment cell. She didn’t want to call the security department to get Brigetson at an unusual hour and give any indication that something was out of the ordinary. Heian decided to use the cover of a routine interview with SCP 6079-1 to inform the child of the revelation, but first she needed to make a slight detour. Walking past the containment chamber, Heian strode into the thankfully empty surveillance station and switched off the audio. The only time the tapes were actually checked was if something had gone wrong, and Heian was going to make sure that did not happen. She swiped her keycard and heard the telltale hiss before the door opened. SCP 6079-1 was seated in a chair facing the door, in their hands was a cello that they had just been playing a second before the door opened. Heian silently stepped in and let the door close before she sat down. The SCP looked at her with a gaze of curiosity. Heian had made a habit of being prepared and professional for interviews, now her discomfort was clearly showing in her lack of recording devices or note taking materials. Smoothing down her wrinkled lab coat, she ran her hand through her hair and finally turned her gaze towards the anomaly. SCP 6079-1 had seemingly stored the instrument away during the time Heian was organizing herself and was sitting patiently in the bare plastic chair with a mild look of confusion on their face. 

“I…” Heian croaked out before realizing how hoarse her voice was. She nervously coughed and tried again.

“This is not going to be a normal interview.” She hastily said. “An issue has come up that...well it kind of concerns the whole world.” 

The child still did not speak and only narrowed their eyes in concern. Heian took a deep breath. She needed to compose herself and be succinct. “What do you know about Doctor Clef?” She decided to begin with a question. Instantly, she knew she had hit a nerve as the anomaly’s eyes widened in shock before they forcibly readjusted their face. Despite the attempt at control, she could see the quivering in their throat. If she was to guess, she would even say that they weren’t so much afraid of answering, as they were afraid of the question itself. 

“Not much,” they replied, trying to suppress the emotion in their voice. “I know that h-they did a lot of research into the technology and biology of the angels.” Heian nodded. It wasn’t entirely correct but it was close.

“Look.” She whispered trying to assuage their fears. “This is not an interview or interrogation, I have found something that....that I am not sure if I can trust the administration with.” The child nodded but still seemed tense.

“I...I obtained some very strong evidence from laboratory results that Doctor Clef is most likely an angel.” Heian heard the child breath sharply in and saw them visibly swallow. 

“May-maybe those t-tests are wrong.” SCP 6079-1 suggested, their voice shaky. “They seem very human to me.” 

Heian leaned it close. “I know that it’s hard to hear, and I know that you and the doctor are very close, but the evidence is very clear, their physical composition, the unexplainable anomalies that happen around them. I’m sorry 6079-1, they are an angel.” 

The child opened and closed their mouth a few times, but didn’t say anything. Heian could see that the news was shocking, of course it would be. She decided that it was probably best to leave for a bit to let them process it alone. “I...I’ll give you a minute.” She excused and stood up to leave. The child didn't move, eyes still staring straight ahead. Heian turned to the door. 

“Wait! Please, Kaworu won’t hurt you! He won’t do anything!” Heian stopped and looked over her shoulder at the sudden outburst. “Who?” 

SCP 6079-1 looked very pale and was silent for a few seconds before speaking again.  
“P-Please, stay. I’ll explain...if you don’t report this to the administration.” Heian opened her mouth to dismiss that, but then closed it. Making deals with anomalies and hiding it from management was tantamount to treason, however was that not what she had set out today to do? She had come to SCP 6079-1’s cell with the goal of recruiting them into some sort of secret assissination plan with the assumption that all of upper administration had been compromised. Infact, for all she knew, they still were, but she decided to accept the offer; after all nothing about the outwards appearance of her original plan had changed. Heian cautiously moved back to her chair and sat back down.   
“I promise, I won’t reveal what you say to the higher ups.” 

SCP 6079-1 examined her face for a minute, trying to work out if she was telling the truth. Then they took a deep breath. “I...I knew Clef back in our old world.” They said. “H-they were called Kaworu and they were the seventeenth angel.” Heian’s eyes went wide and her heart rate increased. This was certainly news to her. 

“If you knew, why didn’t yo-” She began.

“Because I love him!” The anomaly shouted. “h-he surrendered in the last battle a-and he l-let me kill him because I was more important to him than his life!” 

Heian’s mouth fell open. When she had thought about Clef and SCP 6079-1 being close, she hadn’t imagined in her wildest speculations that they could have shared a past history like this.

“He’s not like the other angels, he’s here to help you guys now.” Heian looked into the eyes across from her which held a deep plea.

“W….why don't you want me to tell the administration?” Heian eventually managed to cough out. Tears welled up in the child’s eyes. 

“When NERV figured out he was an angel, they made me kill him!” The words hung in the air. “If they never knew…. I wouldn’t have had to…” They trailed off as they pulled out a tissue to wipe their face. 

Heian sat in stunned silence. So that was the truth, or at least substantially more of it. What else had this child gone through in their time at this organization NERV? Looking back, Heian felt a knot tighten in her chest. There had been so many signs of the anxiety and pain the SCP was going through. Their panic and despair when they had first been put into containment should have been a major red flag. She cursed herself for not following through and getting the child a therapist, or any sort of help. A million indictments swimmed through her head. She should have petitioned the site director for more freedom privileges, she should have let the anomaly spend more time with Clef when they had the chance, at the very least, she could have tried to see them as more than just an object in containment. “I am so sorry.” She said quietly towards the child. There was a slight nod from the head that was still buried in a tissue. 

She went back over all the things SCP 6079-1 had told her over the past few months. As she listed through them, Heian could see that most of these things were severe traumas: forced into life or death combat from an early age, having to be a child soldier for a monolithic clandestine research organization, forced to kill someone you loved because they wound up on the other side of the battlefield. For all of the dangers at the Foundation, preventing the end of the world was really more of a sterile intellectual affair to a researcher like Heian. To be someone that had the duty of a Mobile Task Force agent and to also be a child deeply disturbed her. 

Yet Heian had known a lot of this for a long time, so why did it take this confession for her to realize it? Heian already knew the answer. The cold clinical view of anomalies was something that was continuously drilled into every Foundation employee from the day they arrived. Even the humanoid entities were still designated as non-people. Heian swallowed and steadied her breath. She still had some lingering suspicions about Clef, but it was clear that she needed to do better for SCP 6079 -1. There was no way she could challenge the monolithic Ethic Committee on their rulings, but she could at least show some humanity to the one anomaly under her care. The words of the multiversal department Liaison, Doctor Varrus Keena, drifted back up to the front of her mind. “Make sure that your team and the anomalies are both safe.” Well, Clef was technically part of her team, and SCP 6079-1 was definitely the anomaly under her jurisdiction. Heian looked back to the child who had stopped crying, their head was now dipped low and they stared blankly into their lap. 

“I’m so sorry.” Heian repeated. “I...I won’t tell anyone else about this.” The child nodded but still didn’t look up. Heian took a deep breath. She needed to drop the clinical tone and for once treat her charge like a human. Just this once she needed to swallow her pride and training as an SCP Foundation researcher and be a person. 

“I know that the Foundation hasn’t treated you very well since you were contained.” She began. The child stopped sniffing and looked up. “A lot of that has been my fault, in trying to maintain containment and following procedures, I overlooked many aspects of your emotional safety, I know that the angel neutralization missions have opened up old memories, and the constant life or death peril is exhausting. I cannot imagine what it’s like to be dropped in a strange new world and to have the one person you love be in mortal danger. I promise that in the future I will be doing my utmost to see you as a person.” 

SCP 6079-1 seemed to smile a little bit at that admission. “Thanks.” The voice was small, but no longer resentful or full of sorrow. Heian responded with a small lift of the corners of her mouth and silently left the room.

……..

It wouldn’t be until the next morning that Heian would see the mysterious seventeenth angel again. She spotted the wide brimmed hat and silver hair in the main lounge when she had gone out for her first coffee break. They seemed to be their usual, cheerful self, always wearing a smile of contentedness. She had to admit that up close, they certainly did not look like a powerful eldritch creature. After filing her mug up with the dark scalding liquid, she finally worked up the courage to ask. Clef smiled as usual when they saw her approach. 

“Hello researcher, what can I do for you?” They asked. Heian took a deep breath. 

“Do you have time right now? I have some...sensitive information I need to discuss.” She tried her best to not sound shady with her question. Still, the doctor raised an eyebrow, but nodded. 

“Of course, I am free.” They stood up, putting their hands in their pockets. “Is it related to SCP-6079?” The Junior Researcher nodded. 

There was silence as the two walked through the corridors, winding farther from the communal areas at the entrance of the site. The junior researcher finally stopped as they came to a deserted corner of the site near the biology lab. As the pair stopped walking, Heian turned around with a concerned look on her face.

“Are you an angel?” The question cut through the air like a sword. The doctor’s eyes widened. “I...I ran some tests on you, the results showed that your composition and structure were nearly identical to all the angels we've seen so far, SCP -6079-1 has kind of confirmed it….” She awkwardly trailed off. 

Clef held their surprised expression for a full minute. Heian likewise held her breath. “Yes.” The suddenness and clarity of the words shook the junior researcher. “I am the seventeenth angel.” Clef’s face wasn’t angry or frightened. Instead his expression was neutral, there was maybe even a hint of enjoyment. Heian sputtered. She hadn’t expected it to be that easy, but now that she had the doctor’s confirmation, she wasn’t quite sure what to ask next. “You must have a lot of questions about this.” The angel observed. Heian nodded.

“Well,” she began. “For one, how do you look so...human?” 

“That is a long and complicated story.” Clef remarked. “However the summary of that is, I am largely biologically human, and this is not a disguise, I really do look like this.” They made a sweeping gesture at themselves. The junior researcher pursed her lips and continued. 

“Is it true that SCP 6079-1 killed you?” Heian asked in a small voice. Celf nodded again.

“Yes, I gave up my life so that the Lilin could thrive instead of my kind, I believe that SCP 6079-1 showed me that they would make better use of the world than the angels ever could .” 

Heian swallowed. So it was all true then. As impossible as it was, these two entities, one basically a human, the other a powerful reality warping angel had fallen in love. They had sacrificed their bond for the sake of their world, and had now, by some twist of fate, had ended up in this one. 

“Researcher, I am not your enemy.” Heian looked up, realizing that in the midst of her thoughts, she had been staring at her shoes. “I do not wish to end this world, or to bring calamity to it, I am here to help you, as well as SCP 6079-1 any way I can.” They stuck out a hand. 

Heian slowly began to nod. “Ok,” she said. “I...I understand.” She grasped the hand and shook firmly. 

Finishing the formality, Heian crossed her arms over her chest. “So, why are the angels attacking this site?” Heian continued. To her surprise the angel shook their head. 

“No, My siblings are not attacking this site,” they paused and surveyed the area for cameras before leaning in. “The angels are being called by another being of great power, called Lilith. The remains of this entity are currently held at Site 2000, which is of close proximity to site 47.”

Heian scratched her head and considered this. Of course it would make more sense that the angels were after something related to them, instead of randomly attacking this one site. It was just as she had suspected; the O5 council had indeed some deeper connection to all these recent events. Site 2000 was notorious for being a rumor whispered among the senior scientists. Heian was vaguely aware that it was regarded as perhaps the most strategically important Foundation installation in the entire world. If that was connected to the angels, then the Overseer’s interest in her small project suddenly made a lot more sense. 

“So, what happens now?” Heian thought out loud. 

“Well, seeing that nothing has fundamentally changed, we should proceed with the operations the same as before, lest someone becomes suspicious.” Clef observed. Heian fidgeted.

“Do the Overseers know this? I mean all of it.” The blue haired woman finally asked.

“Yes, they are aware of my nature, as they are aware of most things.” Clef observed, tilting their head up to the ceiling. “However, I would prefer if knowledge about this conversation was kept away from their eyes.” 

“Thanks for telling the truth.” Heian said as she nodded to the angel’s request. Clef looked back down and smiled. “Likewise, I hope this means that our project team will be more cohesive in the future.”

“Yeah.” Heian said. With that, Clef turned and strode back down the hall, whistling a light tune. 

Heian stood there in the corner for a moment. So that had been it. Outwardly, there had been no change to their purpose or mission statement. However, internally their entire team dynamic had suddenly shifted, loyalties that seemed unbreakable had been undone, and secrets that had been kept under wraps had suddenly been ripped into the light. Their project was entering a new phase, and hopefully that meant that things would work out alright after all. A muffled beeping made Heian curse and pull out her phone. She was late returning from coffee break by almost ten minutes, she was needed in the command office. Swearing again, she took off down the hallway.

……..

The early light of dawn rose up over the curved horizon, bathing Foundation surveillance satellite #87 in a bright yellow glow. The rudimentary onboard analysis program regarded the space around it, slowly analyzing everything in its view. On most days there was usually nothing to report. The planet below would change, its weather patterns, jet streams, and clouds would all shift and mutate, but the vacuum around it was static, save for some small micro-meteors that occasionally streaked past. As the computer redirected the lens to the next portion of space, the program suddenly flagged an object for further consideration. The satellite focused in and switched to the high magnification lens. It was an object, orbiting at around the same altitude that it was, except judging by it’s radar signature, it was much, much larger. The transmission antenna pulsed an invisible singal back to ground control as several maneuvering thrusters fired to get a closer look. An alarm went off inside the small orbiter. The object had suddenly changed course in a way that should have been impossible for a body in orbit. The thing was now approaching the observation satellite at ever increasing speeds. The program activated all of its equipment, attempting to record as much data as possible. The sporadic pulses of information from the antenna became a stream as the unidentified entity grew ever closer. Suddenly there was burst of diagnostic data and structure failure reports, before the transmission went silent. Far above the surface of the planet, the broken shards of the satellite were pushed aside as the massive, three lobed bulk of Sahaquiel gilded silently through the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter with some character moments and plot, let me know if the melodrama is too thick.


	13. To Catch a Falling Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sahaquiel's appearance over Site 2000 has thrown the Overseer Council into alarm again. Arriving at the top secret destination, Shinji is anxious at having to repeat the ordeal of catching a falling angel once again. However, a grueling battle will prove to be just the first of Shinji's concerns, as his allies are much more infamous than he expected.

Shinji leaned back in the plastic chair and inserted his earbuds. In the few days since Heian had confronted him with the truth about Kaworu’s identity, there had been a sharp drop off in the number of tests and combat training sessions. Kaworu returned a day later and had, as promised, taken Shinji out for lunch again in the mess hall. It was an uneventful date (if going to a prison cafeteria counted as a date) but Shinji preferred it that way. There had been no angel alarms or apocalypse sirens and the two had enjoyed a great deal of quality time together. It didn’t exactly make all the problems go away, but Shinji felt that things were finally looking up. 

So when Kaworu stepped through the door to his cell again, Shinji greeted him with a smile.  
The angel smiled back, but his face quickly became serious. Shinji’s heart sank, and he knew what was happening before Kaworu even opened his mouth.

“It’s the next angel isn’t it?” the pilot said glumly. The angel with the wide hat solemnly nodded.

“Sahaquiel was detected in orbit this morning, she is currently still decelerating out of orbit, but we don't have much time until she is over the drop point.” Shinji pocketed his music player and stood up.

“Ok, but why isn't the site mobilizing? I didn’t hear any alarms.” Shinji questioned. Kaworu’s eyes narrowed as he pulled closer.

“Sahaquiel is targeting Lilith, who is currently being kept at Site 2000. The last thing the Overseers would want is a high profile operation on top of their most coveted sanctuary.” Kaworu explained in a quiet voice.

Shinji’s eyebrows knitted together. “Then how are they gonna deal with the angel?” 

Kaworu gestured to the open door. “The Council has already airlifted Unit 01 to its intended location, all that is left is for you and the Tau 5 team to make the journey.” The doctor extended a pale hand and pulled the pilot up. “Let’s go, we don't have much time.” His voice was steady, but with a hint of desperation. Shinji nodded and followed him out of cell. 

After almost half an hour of walking, Shinji finally emerged from a small armored door, squinting into the light of late morning. On the grass, was a small fleet of three helicopters painted in a dark gray with the Foundation shield painted black on their doors. Shinji looked up just in time to see the hulking armor of the Samsara team in one of the aircraft before the door sealed. Kaworu led him to the closest one and hopped inside. Turning around, he pulled the Eva pilot in before shutting the door.

“SCP 6079-1 is secured,” He called to the cockpit. “We are ready in number 3.” 

“Roger.” The pilot affirmed before turning back to her head set. Shinji surveyed the roomy interior of the large military chopper. He remembered riding on several similar craft while at NERV, but most of the time the cargo bays had never been this empty. Kaworu strode over to a small row of benches on the far side of the cabin and gently sat down, motioning for Shinji to join him. The third child nodded and walked over, sitting down next to the angel. 

“All three choppers are ready.” Called the helicopter pilot. “We are ready for takeoff.”

Shinji held on tightly to the seat as the whole aircraft lurched forwards into the air. As the craft rose ever higher, Shinji glanced out of the small porthole and watched the enormous expanse of Site 47 come fully into view. While nerv HQ had certainly been larger, the majority of it had been hidden under the ground. To see a facility of similar size but splayed out on the surface was an awe-inspiring view.

“Breathtaking isn’t it?” Kaworu commented.

“Yeah.” Shinji exhaled. No wonder he got lost in the corridors, the entire complex was absolutely gargantuan! Suddenly the windows darkened to black and the scenery disappeared. Several lights on the roof of the cabin switched on and the cockpit door sealed.

“Dark flight mode engaged.” The Pilot reported through the intercom. Shinji looked towards his angelic companion. 

“The exact location of Site 2000 is classified.” Kaworu delineated. “We will be taking a blacked out flight with a non linear path, the only pilots approved to fly this route are part of the red right hand, the personal task force of the Overseers.” 

Shinji slowly nodded. Of course, even that path to Site 2000 would be classified. It was just like how SEELE had hid Lilith’s existence from almost everyone working at NERV HQ. The thought of Lilith prompted another, more practical realization to creep into Shinji’s mind.

“Is there a plan for Sahaquiel?” He asked hesitantly. “Last time, we had to have three eva’s positioned across a wide area to catch it depending on where it landed.” 

Kaworu nodded. “There is a plan currently being formulated, but my sister’s ability to alter her course during her descent is becoming very troublesome.” Shinji sighed and glanced down at his shoes. “It’s a shame that we don’t have another Evangelion to help us with this.” He mused.

Kaworu shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “We might have a few extra resources at our disposal this time.” He commented. Shinji looked at him with a puzzled expression. “ I have persuaded the Overseers to make some negotiations with another party that possesses several vital resources we lack.” Shinji nodded in understanding. It would reason that in this world, with so many supernatural occurrences, there would be other groups at play that had assets that the Foundation did not. 

“However,” Kaworu continued in a hushed tone. “Be wary of them, they are a Sarkic cult that operates in this region, they are very well armed and dangerous.”

“But I will be in an Eva right? What do I need to watch out for?” Shinji cautiously asked. 

“The Sarkics are an ancient order,” the angel explained. “Since their founding they have harbored a deep resentment for cosmic forces such as the angels, especially Adam and Lilith.” 

These must have been the same group that had defeated Shamshel, Shinji realized. 

“However they’re weapons are not just faith alone, they have real power and knowledge about the deep inner workings of the angels and the seeds of life.” Kaworu took off his hat and flipped it over, staring at the dark felt of its brim. “This specific sect has taken the reemergence of the angels as a call to arms, to destroy the children of Adam and fulfill their prophecy.” Shinji leaned in close to his companion. 

“But isn’t that good? We won’t be able to access Lilith unless all the other angles are defeated right?” Kaworu shook his head.

“The Sarkics see the Seeds of Life as the true perpetrators of original sin, it is their belief that the creation of life was flawed one, and apotheosis can be achieved by killing Lilith and taking her power for themselves, if they got to the skull first, they would destroy it, rendering it unusable for our purposes.” Kaworu responded at a whisper, inaudible to the pilot or any recording devices. Shinji thought about it for a while, before responding.

“How would they even destroy Lilith?” He asked. “Even the spear was only able to put her into dormancy.” Kaworu pursed his lips and a look of concern crept across his features.

“That is where my knowledge ends.” He admitted. “The abilities the Sarkics have isn’t to be taken lightly. They know more than I about the effect the third impact had on this world, and their skills in flesh crafting and manipulation of souls rivals SEELE’s own efforts. Their methods may have the facade of archaic rituals, but their effects are undeniable. Even protected by Unit 01, You should still exercise extreme caution when in their vicinity.”

Shinji’s face paled and he swallowed. He had been hearing about the shadowy powers of this world for months, now he was finally going to be meeting them face to face. Shinji decided to nudge the topic away from dangerous allies. “What’s going to be the plan of action for when we get there?”

“Site 2000 is heavily defended by a large autonomous grid.” Kaworu explained. “If all weapons are directed onto Sahaquiel as she falls, we have a good chance of not only slowing the descent but also controlling her trajectory. The current working plan is to have you carry the Tau 5 team on Unit 01 and catch Sahaquiel, after which Samsara will neutralize the AT field and destroy the core.” Kaworu gave Shinji a sympathetic smile. “I will be in touch throughout the whole operation, You won’t be alone.”

Shinji smiled and gave a small nod. “Thanks.” Then blushing, Shinji reached out and grasped Kaworu’s hand. “I’m glad...for that promise.” Kaworu closed his eyes, before they widened with surprise. Shinj had leaned in and planted a long kiss on the angel’s cheek. There was nothing except the sound of the engine above as Kaworu closed his eyes again and moved his own lips onto Shinji’s. After what felt like an eternity, the brown haired pilot pulled away, his face was covered in a deep red blush.

“I-uh-I j-just wan-ted you to kn-know h-how I f-feel. ” Shinji sputtered out as he looked down at his lap. A slight crimson hue crept up on Kaworu’s cheeks. “I really do love you Shinji.” The angel replied. He was answered by Shinji pulling him into a tight embrace. The angel rested his head on Shinji’s shoulders and locked his arms around his companion’s back. They stayed that way for a long time. 

…….

The rest of the flight had been uneventful. The mood in the cargo hold had remained positive , but the conversation turned back to the coming battle. Kaworu had to try to draw some limited diagrams of the nearby area, but Shinji still wasn’t very sure about the layout of the terrain. The helicopter had banked over a dozen times, and at one point Shinji was convinced that they were flying in circles. Eventually after being thoroughly dazed and confused, Shinji felt the aircraft begin to descend. The windows became transparent again and the view that greeted Shinji was magnificent. A valley opened up in front of him, with pines lining the hill sides. Below was a wide open plain, with the shores of a lake in the far distance. 

“Moving to rendezvous point!” The helicopter pilot called back. The aircraft made another left and rounded the last slope. Unit 01 came into view, laid on its back on the grass of the field. Several trucks surrounded it and the two other helicopters had already landed around it. Shinji grabbed the seat rail as the landing gear hit the dirt. Kaworu stood up quickly and offered his hand to Shinji. Turning to the door, the pilot of Unit 01 took the hand of his companion and walked to the door. Shinji lifted his other hand to shield his eyes as the silver haired angel helped off of the aircraft. The grass was tall and unkept. This was real wilderness, unlike the neatly managed lawns that surrounded Site 47. Shinji was led over to a hastily erected changing tent and was handed his plug suit and headset. A few minutes later, shivering in the breeze, Shinji climbed up to the platform where he found his entry plug waiting for him. Large diameter piping had been connected to the LCL intake ports and the entry hatch was wide open. Looking around Shinji saw Kaworu waving to him at the bottom of the steps. Shinji sheepishly waved back and smiled before climbing into the plug. Synchronization went smoothly, and as the landscape in front of him came into view again a video screen opened to see Kaworu sitting down in front of an open tent.

“Pulling up HUD information.” He typed a few things on a keyboard out of view. Shinji looked around the entry plug as an extensive overlay appeared on the landscape. The first thing that drew his attention was a target marker. It glowed an alarming red and flashed lightly every few seconds. The crimson target was around fifty degrees above the mountains and next to it was a fluctuating altitude counter. A text box appeared next to it: “SAHAQUIEL” 

“She’s still not in position,” Kaworu explained. A side view diagram popped up, showing the curvature of the earth. The angel was projected to follow a regular orbit until it was directly above Site 2000, at which point the simulation projected a sharp downwards turn that ended directly on top of their current location. 

“I thought you said that they didn't know where Sahaquiel was going to land?” Shinji commented.

“They don’t,” Kaworu explained. He pressed a few more keys and the diagram zoomed in. The one clear path became a large conical shape, with the possible point of impact spread out over several dozen square kilometers. 

“The descent will be much faster this time.” Kaworu continued. “The call of Lilith is so strong that she doesn’t need to waste time zeroing in.” The silver haired angel leaned back and rubbed his temples. “The call is becoming quite distracting this close to her.” Shinji pursed his lips and turned back to the situation at hand. Sahaquiel had moved another two degrees higher. Shinji sat the Eva up and checked the equipment. Progressive knives were still stashed in the shoulder pylons along with a few reality anchor grenades. There was some distortion in the video feed and Shinji turned to look but was distracted as another video opened. This one was totally black save for the text in white reading “O5-2” 

“Hello SCP 6079.” The voice that came over the speakers was clearly digital, but still retained the tone and inflection of whoever was speaking with it. “Do you know who I am?” It asked quizzically. 

“Y-you’re an Overseer of the SCP Foundation.” Shinji said carefully. 

“That is correct.” O5-2 replied. “However, today I will be your ground command for this operation.” Shinji blinked. Why would a member of the secretive Overseers command this personally?

“I hope you will understand.” O5-2 continued. “Site 2000 is of....unique importance to the Foundation’s mission, therefore I cannot allow its defense to be delegated.” 

Kaworu’s camera feed reappeared, with the angel’s red eye taking up most of the screen. He seemed to be tapping on the camera for a few seconds before pulling back and sitting down. 

“Ah,” O5-2 announced. “My apologies, Doctor for commendering your connection, but we really do have to start this operation now. Whatever you had to say can wait, from now until the end of the mission, you will be standing by In case we require intelligence on the target.” The doctor’s face remained neutral as he nodded.

“Yes councillor.” He replied. 

“Now then, 6079, if you look to your left and right you will find four modular pods. Shinji raised the arms of his Eva and saw that there were indeed four, wide and bulky pods beside him. 

“These will attach to the torso and shoulders of your unit.” O5-2 continued. “You will carry Tau 5 Samsara in these containers with you. After you have successfully blocked the descent of the angel, they will exit and neutralize it.” Shinji wanted to ask about the Sarkics and their Evangelion, but the tone in Kaworu’s words when he spoke of them made Shinji reconsider. The pilot reached out and grabbed a pod, looking for anchor points on the front of Unit 01. Finding an attachment location on a Foundation made piece of armor, Shinji went to slot it in before the Overseer spoke again.

“Do not attach it now, Tau 5 are not in the pods yet, it would be quite a hassle to remove them.” Turning red, Shinji carefully sat the container back down and sighed. It was just nerves, he told himself. Shinji’s hands were indeed shaking. He had felt these kinds of jitters recently as well, right before his battle with Ramiel and Gaghiel. The way this operation was shaping up, Shinji didn’t want to tempt fate, but he feared that this battle would be a grueling struggle as well. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. 

Fifteen minutes later, Shinji was standing up in the field with the members of Samsara affixed firmly to the Armor of Unit 01. Sahaquiel had risen a further thirty five degrees and was just about overhead. Kaworu’s video feed showed that the seventeenth angel was sitting uncomfortably in his chair; every so often he would shake his head, rub his temples and squeeze his eyes shut. Whatever Lilith’s effect was, it was clearly having a large effect on him. 

“All teams and systems are a go.” O5-2’s voice cut through the silence of the LCL. Shinji’s HUD blinked and the projection of Sahaquiel’s trajectory updated. Judging from the picture, the angel was now definitely overhead. “Stand by 6079.” O5-2 ordered. “The target has ceased horizontal movement.” Shinji nodded and crouched down to a sprinter’s start. “Open all defense grid nacelles.” O5-2 ordered. A cacophony of small explosions filled the air as blow away hatches and panels flipped open across the mountain side. Shinji’s eyes widened as even the distant hills shed their outer skin, revealing a vast array of buried artillery, missiles and other weapons. As the sound died down, almost every nearby mountainside had been converted into weapon emplacements. Not even Tokyo-3’s fully operational defense grid had been this expansive. Shinji privately mused for a minute on the amount of ammunition and infrastructure that could support such a massive arsenal. Surely site 2000 rivaled the geofront in size.

Suddenly the inside of the plug flashed a red and a shrill alarm echoed through the LCL.  
The diagram of Sahaquiel expanded. The trajectory was no longer a wide cone, but had narrowed down. The angel had made an almost 90 degree turn and was now plummeting straight downwards. 

“Go!” O5-2 ordered. Without wasting another second Shinji shoved the controls forwards as hard as he could. Unit 01 exploded forwards, the ground was ripped up and thrown back under its boots as the massive cyborg rocketed off towards the blinking red marker. As shinji plowed through the sparsely wooded prairie, he stole a glance at Kaworu’s video screen. The angel had stood up and was staring intently at his falling sibling. “..too fast.” Shinji heard him say. He turned back to the video. “We need to intercept now!” he shouted. 

“Fire all inner ring batteries.” O5-2 calmly responded over the channel. Instantly silence in the valley around Shinji exploded with the sound of countless heavy artillery thundering into the sky. A second later, the area around the target marker exploded in an endless series of white hot blasts. Inside the plug, Shinji’s HUD recalculated, the projected trajectory changing to a much narrower cone. The rapid countdown of altitude slowed dramatically as more defense systems roared to life around him. Shinji refocused back onto the path. Jumping over a small pond, Shinji winced as the Evangelion’s foot broke through the surface into a pool of scalding water. Pulling the controls back, Shinji stabilized the unit from falling over and glanced down at the terrain. 

“Careful, there are geysers and hot springs all over this place.” Kaworu warned over video. 

“Would have been nice to know earlier.” Shinji groaned as he stepped back onto solid ground. 

“Take this path.” O5-2’s synthesized voice commanded as a new route appeared overlaid on his HUD. “That route will encounter as few environmental hazards as possible.” Shinji took off again, the thundering steps of Unit 01 shaking the leaves from the patches of trees as he dashed past. The pilot’s eyes darted across his view, there were no more geysers or sinkholes that he could see. A beep sounded from the tracker as Sahaquiel’s altitude reached a hundred miles. From the distance, the angel still looked like a brighter star that was constantly exploding in a series of flashes. Shinji gritted his teeth and pushed the controls ever farther. He had lost precious seconds, he wouldn’t make it as his current rate. 

“Open up thirty percent more of the inner ring.” O5-2 ordered. The already monstrous din around Shinji grew even more intense as more hidden silos and nacells blasted open and began firing into the heavens. Sahaquiel’s descent slowed again as Unit 01 banked hard left and then leaped into the air as another geyser erupted in front of it. Shinji’s eye twitched as he felt the boiling water splash on the eva’s legs. Then the boots crashed onto the grass and pushed the massive cyborg back into a sprint. 

There was some commotion on Kaworu's end, before the face of a Red Right Hand came into view. “Be advised.” She said in a deadpan tone. “Target’s morphology is changing.” 

“Give me long range optics.” O5-2 said without hesitation. A few seconds later, a close up of the massive angelic eye popped up in a corner of Shinji’s HUD. From underneath the constant barrage of explosions, Shinji could see a teardrop shaped mass begin to detach. His brows furrowed. The angel’s AT field seemed to be bending around the doplet, growing more and more distorted. Suddenly the barrier snapped back and the glob of tissue vanished from the image. 

“INCOMING!” The red right hand yelled. “Projectile is on intercept course for 6079!” 

Instantly the HUD erupted in alarms and warnings. The jetessioned piece of the angel lit up with a huge red marker. Shinji’s eyes went wide and launched Unit 01 into a backwards roll. A split second later a spot several hundred meters in front of him exploded in a shower of dirt and stone. Shinji raised his AT field as the debris rained down. The blob of Sahaquiel's body had blasted a crater almost two hundred meters wide. Shinji picked himself up and pushed the titanic body into a full sprint again. 

“Open fifteen percent of the middle ring to compensate for delay.” O5-2’s buzzing voice echoed inside the entry plug. Somewhere in the distance another continuous note of missile fire joined the symphony of destruction. As Shinji avoided another hot spring, his eyes fixed onto the descending form of Sahaquiel. There was another beep as the angel passed the seventy five mile mark. Shinji was close now, he could tell, because despite how far the angel had fallen, It was still directly overhead. The alarms blared out again as another piece of the angel was blasted out to intercept the charging Evangelion. Using his momentum and a nearby slope, Shinji banked hard, charging away from the impact site at a sharp, 90 degree turn. The explosion behind confirmed that he was in the clear. Shinji slid to a halt and turned back to the path. Another mountain side exploded in a barrage of soaring rockets as the return fire intensified. Suddenly Shinji’s mind turned to the passengers he was carrying. “How’s Tau 5 ?” Shinji cried at the video channels. The silver haired angel leaned into the monitor and clacked a few more keys. 

“They are alright,” Kaworu finally responded. “That first dodge resulted in quite a few injuries, but their regeneration should have healed most of that.” A new audio channel connected to the inside of the plug.

“This is Irantu, all clear.”  
“This is Onru, all clear.”  
“This is Nanku, healing process is almost complete.”  
“This is Munru, superficial injuries healed.” 

The series of voices confirmed Kaworu’s observations. Shinji nodded and sighed as he maneuvered around another volcanic formation. He had to be more careful he told himself. He had teammates that were not in Eva’s of their own, they depended on him.  
The fifty mile beep roused Shinji from his self pep talk. He still had quite a few miles to the projected impact point himself, and the angel of sky was still falling fast. 

There was another blast of sound, and Shinji instinctually veered left again. To his shock the alarm only got louder. Shinji pulled the controls back and skidded to a halt a split second before the ground in front of him exploded. Shinji was weightless as the Eva was tossed back by the force of angelic flesh cratering into the earth at several dozen times the speed of sound. More alarms blared all around as Unit 01 crashed into the ground, the titan plowing up trees and earth in a skid trail. Groaning, Shinji immediately pulled up the vitals of the Samsara team. He let out a breath as all of their readings came back battered, but alive. Shinji gritted his teeth. Sahaquiel had predicted his movements almost perfectly, he couldn’t afford to take another hit like that or else he wouldn’t even make it to the impact point in one piece. Straining against the neural feedback of pain, Shinji pushed the cyborg onto its feet again. 

The hit had been more costly than Shinji had initially realized. Despite every single battery opening up afterwards, Sahaquiel had actually begun to accelerate. Shinji seemed to be in the middle of an immense tent of missiles and rockets streaking towards the apex above him. He was almost to the target point, the prediction had now narrowed it down to perfect accuracy, But Shinji was still not going to make it in time. The angel had crossed the ten mile mark just a second ago, and was now a looming shadow above. He needed a boost of some sort. Shinji leaped over a geyser just as it exploded in his wake. An idea popped up inside his head. 

“I need a close up of the angel!” shinji desperately called into any channel. Kaworu responded straight away and pulled up the telescopic picture on the HUD of the entry plug. Just as Shinji suspected there was another piece, pinching off of the main body. Shinji slowed his pace as the AT field bowed inwards, preparing to eject the hypersonic shell at its enemy. Then the barrier snapped back. The ear piercing alarm filled the entry plug as Shinji jammed the controls forwards immediately. The distance counter next to the highlighted projectile plummeted towards zero. Shinji gulped in a breath of LCL, and jumped. The Eva’s feet were lifted off the ground for an instant before a new overwhelming force of the explosion slammed into its back. Shinji tucked the legs into a ball and, sprung his coiled up AT field, launching the skyscraper sized figure into the distance. He was tumbling through the air, over and over again, there was no ground or sky, just a blur of colors outside the plug. Shinji held his breath, there was no ground collision warning yet. His eyes snapped to his own altitude counter, whose number was still going up. Shinji held his breath as the increase gradually slowed, his own height reaching the top of an immense arc right before he threw his hands outwards, and projected his AT field flat sheet beneath him. Instantly the glowing barrier caught the air and the Eva stopped spinning. There was a jolt inside the plug as inertia threatened to throw him into the metal wall. Shinji brought his head back up as the force passed, reorienting himself as the gyroscope re-calibrated all the displays. The angel was now less than five miles up, but Shinji was just a few hundred meters from the impact point, and he was going to land first. Using all his might, Shinji swung the Eva's legs out from underneath it just in time to slam into the soft dirt of the landing site. He felt a painful jolt spike through his leg and into his spine. Ignoring the sympathetic feedback, the pilot jerked his head upwards to see the massive iris of Sahquiel plummeting rapidly towards him. 20,000 feet, 10,000 feet, 5000 feet. There was no time left. Shinji widened his stance, firmly planting his feet into the craters the landing had left, concentrated his entire AT field above his head, and pushed.

There was a cataclysmic bang that shook Shinji’s very soul. It was like a supernova exploding directly inside his brain. The unstoppable force hitting an immovable object. For an instant, Shinji could feel the mind of Sahaquiel, its determination, its force, its tenacity. Then his vision returned to see the eye of the angel. The hands of Unit 01 were spread wide apart, its arms were pillars, supporting the glowing shield that was now directly pressed up against the tenth angel’s cornea. 

“Tau 5, initiate the second stage of operations.” O5-2’s voice cut through the cacophony of sounds flooding the entry plug. There were a quartet of affirmations, and Shinji felt the four pods open along the back and torso of the Evangelion. He squeezed his eyes shut. Sahaquiel hadn’t actually stopped falling, Shinji was simply delaying the inevitable. He could feel the muscles inside the arms of Unit 01 begin to tear. The outer armor layer would buckle soon, and without support, he only had a few seconds after that before the massive angel squashed them flat. 

“In position, we are beginning the incision into the conjoined AT fields.” Irantu reported. Shinji could only manage a weak groan as the bones in Unit 01’s hands cracked. A shower sparks rained down in front of his vision, as the progressive weaponry of the task force grinded into the fused barrier. Suddenly Shinji saw a rippled flow through Sahaquiel’s body. The two side lobes made an enormous wave motion, propelling the central eye downwards in a renewed charge. Pain shot through his ankles as the Evangelion was pushed into the ground. Every bone in Shinji’s body exploded in sympathetic agony. 

“Half way through.” Irantu shouted. Shinji’s heart quivered. He couldn’t keep this up anymore. At this rate, The angel would overwhelm unit 01 in the next few seconds. He needed more power. He needed a Berserker. Shinji squeezed his eyes shut and felt his synchronization rate increase. He pulled deep into the Eva, down into its core.

“Please mother, help me!” The pilot projected the prayer as loudly as he could. A second ticked by. Shinji heard his heartbeat, deafening inside his head. Then the wrists snapped. Time seemed to freeze as the unsupported angel began to fall again. Shinji could only stare as the yawing pupil accelerated towards him. 

There was an earsplitting roar and a bang as Sahaquiel jolted to a halt. Shinji looked up, expecting his own berserk to have kicked in, but he didn't feel it. There was no rush of rage and power and fury that signaled the berserker state. Shinji turned his head to the source of the sound. Standing over unit 01, was the grimacing, cream white body of a mass production Evangelion. Shinji immediately went for his knife, but cried out in pain as the broken wrist flared up in a shot of torment. In response, the eyeless head peeled back its crimson lips and the pilot of Unit 01 a wide smile. Kaworu’s words echoed in Shinji’s mind. The sarkics have an evangelion unit of their own. 

Standing back up, Shinji regarded the newcomer with caution. 

“Status report!” O5-2’s voice was suddenly tinged with desperation. 

“All members of Tau-5 are alive, however Munru and Onru are non operational.” Irantu’s voice calmly echoed despite the perilous situation. Shinji looked around, and saw the downed members of Tau 5 lying far away on the grass, Irantu and Nanku clung to Unit 01’s shoulders.

“The Sarkic force has also arrived,” Irantu noted. There was a long pause from the overseer’s side. “Very well.” The synthesized voice finally said. 

“I-I can finish the neutralization.” Shinji groaned as he felt a rush of power surge through the unit. The fire of his soul flared and Unit 01 retched open its jaws to let out a roar of its own. Shinji felt the bones set and muscles knit back together as he stood up. He knew what had to be done. The Evangelion shot an arm out and grappled onto the angel’s barrier. Instantly the AT field parted, as the barrier was corroded away. Shinji strained and pushed the arm ever further until he felt the smooth surface of the angel’s core touch his claws. With a final thrust, the open palm of Unit 01 closed around the crimson sphere. Shinji snarled. He had no need for a weapon anymore. He began to close the hand. There was a splintering sound from above. Inside the entry plug Shinji’s eyes flashed red as he shoved the control as far as it would go. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” A torrent of bubbles poured into the LCL as the third child closed the fist of Unit 01. A crunching sound pierced through the air and the Evangelion ripped its arm from the hole in the AT field, clutching a fist-full of scarlet shards. 

Immediately the eye of Sahaquiel dimmed. Its own AT field blinked out of existence, and its massive body flopped limply onto the earth like a gigantic sheet. Shinji wasted no time, projecting his AT field wide, using the residual energy of the berserk to shield the members of Tau 5 just as the corpse of the angel began to bloat and bubble. Shinji stood fast as a flash of light engulfed him and felt the rush of heat into the heavens. He stood there until all the angelic flames had dissipated, leaving nothing of the corpse except a deep crater. 

Shinji’s shoulders slumped forwards. The rush of rage and anger subsided, and he stumbled forwards a few steps, trying to steady the suddenly wobbling body of the Evangelion in the uneven terrain. Across from him, on the other side of the crater, The pale, eyeless titan craned its head. Instantly the third child felt a voice inside of his head.

“Ah, you’re a new one, not from this world, yet you serve the Jailors….” Shinji swallowed. This was the power Kaworu had warned him about. Exhausted, Shinji could only think of a question.

“Who are you?” He projected into the LCL. His voice was still unsteady from coming off the rage fueled high of the short berserker state. A small giggle echoed inside his head. 

“A puppet of the overseers that is courteous enough to ask my name! How refreshing.” 

“I-” Shinji sputtered at a loss for words. He was taking in deep breaths of the LCL.

“Very well,” The voice continued. “Since you have proved your capabilities in battle and your respect towards a fellow human being, I believe we can have a respectful conversation. I am Seryaican, Karcist of the Halkost of the Black Moon. “

“I am Shinji Ikari, pilot of Evangelion unit 01.” the third child responded. To Shinji’s surprise, there was no mocking laughter or patronizing words from the so-called Karcist.

“A fellow warrior against the archons.” She said in a respectful tone. “I see your battles, your comrades, all that you sacrificed to protect your world.” Shinji shuddered as he felt the other presence push deeper into his mind, sifting through the recent memories. 

“I must give my condolences for your loss.” The voice said apologetically. “Yet I find it curious,” it continued. “Why would you collaborate with the Jailors, despite your possession of this weapon.” More memories were unearthed as Shinji saw flashes of his cell, interviews, and the corridors of Site 47. Shinji smiled as the recollection of Kaworu’s kiss passed by. 

Anger, shock, disbelief flooded his mind from presence. Shinji felt the Karcist’s search quicken as memories, images, and recollections flashed by even faster. He felt the other mind begin to dig deeper. Into his more hidden memories. A scene on the shore of Lake Ashi, fading sunlight, a silver haired figure sitting on a fallen statue. The image faded and shifted to another. The grim lighting of terminal dogma. A great fist clutching the same figure. The face wearing the same smile. The presence stopped. Shinji blinked as a few tears floated down through the orange liquid. The other mind was silent, but Shinji could feel it's turmoil. No longer was it the collected, respectful soul that he had felt earlier. 

“Be...very careful....what you place your trust in.” The words came out harsh and grating in Shinji’s mind. His brows furrowed. 

“No!” He shouted at the empty LCL in front of him. “You don’t understand! Kaworu is different! He made a promise to me! He’s not here to hurt you or cause the apocalypse!” 

“No, it is you that doesn’t understand!” The voice cut like a blade into Shinji’s soul. “That...thing is the soul of demiurge, the progenitor of all other archons! It holds powers and secrets beyond time and space! It wears the shape of a human as a disguise for its unceasing purpose. It was the first being to create the walls between the souls, and it hordes the fruit of life away, keeping it from the hands of all! It is Adam El Asem, the firstborn! Such a creature cannot possibly know anything about the pain, vulnerability, and despair of the human condition!” Anger welled up inside Shinji as the Karcist’s rant continued. 

“You’re wrong!” He shouted at the wall of the plug. “I’ve seen Kaworu be more than just an angel, he has free will! He wants what’s best for humanity and he wants us to live! I have seen him sacrifice and cry! He is a person!” 

There was a commotion near the edge of the crater. Instinctively turning his head, Shinji saw several SCP Foundation trucks and armored vehicles begin to roll down the slope towards him. Likewise Tau 5 had begun to pick themselves up. Shinji heard a sigh in his soul.

“It appears this is the end of our conversation,” The Karcist remarked. Across from Shinji the pale titan shifted its body and began to turn away. “If this being, this ‘Tabris’ is so caring about your future, and indeed the future of all humanity, then why does it continue to be a pawn to others?” Shinji opened his mouth to rebut, but then closed it again. 

“If this, the greatest of all the archons, had the desire to better humanity and to help you- the one it ‘loves’- then why did it let itself be manipulated in your world? Why does it continue to serve in this one? Why does it play out its prescribed role in a hundred other worlds? Why does it believe its fate is already chosen?” The white Evangelion turned away from Shinji before levitating to the opposite rim of the crater. 

“Wait!” Shinji called. The presence in his mind already fading. “What do you mean by other worlds?” 

“Ask it yourself.” Was the final, faint reply. On the far ridge, the Sarkic Evangelion unfurled a pair of enormous white wings before launching itself into the air and out of sight. Shinji slumped back and felt the tiredness finally overtake him. Balancing the seventy meter tall titan, Shinji carefully sat Unit 01 down and closed his eyes. Suddenly the video channels came back on. 

“-inji can you hear me?” Kaworu had a look of concern as he sat back again. 

“Yeah,” shinji mumbled. “I..I’m ok.” 

“Begin retrieval operations, immediately, see to it that 6079 and Tau 5 are operational as soon as possible.” O5-2 gave one last command before her channel disconnected.

Shinji leaned forwards and rubbed his eyes as the sounds of the Foundation recovery team began their work. 

…….

O5-2 crossed her arms in front of the large monitor. It had barely been an hour since the latest angel had been destroyed mere miles away from SCP 2000, and O5-1 had decided that now was the best time to call a session of the Council. Predictably, 4,6,7,10, and 13 had all been busy preparing contingencies for mission failure and couldn’t make it in time. Still there was enough present for a briefing meeting. Formalities and the report on the operation had been exchanged, before 1 pulled out the satellite photos. Around 1800 kilometres to the southeast of Site 2000, In the middle of an uninhabited desert, a new spatial anomaly had emerged. The before and after photos clearly showed a whole complex of structures popping into existence within the span of five minutes.

“What do you think this is?” Eight probed. 

“Preliminary analysis suggests that it is some sort of dimensional displacement,” One explained. 

“Do we know what, if anything inside caused this?” Three added.

“The purpose of the structure as well as what was inside is unknown.” One said. “We have already designated it as SCP 1730. In addition to high altitude photos we were able to get some drone footage.” 

There was a click and a new set of mages appeared on the screen. Rising above the flat sands of the desert was indeed a cluster of buildings. However O5-2’s eyes were drawn to the one structure that dominated the landscape. Towering above the shrubs below was a mighty obsidian pyramid. Inscribed near the top in faded red, was half of a vast fig leaf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed from all the volcanic imaginary, I am keeping to the lore of Site/SCP 2000 being located on Yellowstone national park. However given some backstories that I haven't revealed yet, the history of this SCP Foundation are quite different from our world, as such, the super volcano is not a national park in this world, thus resulting in it being very, very heavily defended and secretive. Also, yes NERV HQ itself has also been transported into this world. This is one of my longer chapters, and I'm thankful for your patience in waiting for this.


	14. The Yawing Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious black pyramid appearing in the blink of an eye. For the Foundation, such an event demands immediate research, study and, exploration. However, despite the destruction wrought by third impact, NERV headquarters still holds many dark secrets in its labyrinthine halls.

There was a rustling in the sandy shrubs as a warm wind blew through the desert landscape. A second later the vegetation was nearly flattened as a white armored truck with the Foundation logo charged past it. The vehicle made a series of lazy turns in the sandy soil as it wound its way towards its target. Slowly, over the horizon a large black shape rose out from the ground. As the truck drove even closer, a small camp of tents and trailers appeared at the foot of the monolithic structure. The truck slowed as it approached the edge of the encampment and made a large turn, stopping in front of a dark gray trailer. The door to the front passenger seat clicked, and Kaworu stepped out onto the sands, holding his hat against the wind. The seventeenth angel took in a deep breath of the dusty air and turned towards the obsidian monolith. He regarded the structure for a second, judging its height, the adjoining structures, and the faded red inscription before reaching into his pocket for his phone. 

The device beeped twice before O5-2 answered. “So?” The overseer’s tone was impatient. “What’s your verdict?” 

“Confirmed,” Kaworu reported. “This is NERV headquarters.” 

“Very well, stand by for the Council’s decision.” The line went dead. Pocketing the phone again, Kaworu surveyed the base camp. There was the usual assortment of Foundation personnel that one would find in any medium sized field camp: researchers, guards, engineers, medical staff, a few admin personnel, by all accounts this was a standard Foundation exploration camp. Still he could not shake the unease of seeing NERV headquarters again. The polished surface of the once bustling building stared back in silent judgement. It had been at the epicenter of third impact, witnessing the sacrifice of thousands on the altar of instrumentality, it had been there as the black moon rose into the sky and humanity lost their separate forms, and of course it had been the site of Kaworu’s great betrayal. The doctor frowned. Once this complex had been the hope of the whole world, now it was nothing but a monument to the sins of the past. Kaworu turned towards the nearest office trailer and walked in, whatever the O5’s decided to do with this, he probably needed to be prepared with all the information he could find. 

…….

Shinji stepped out of the open helicopter doors and immediately turned away from the blinding desert sun. Shinji nearly had a heart attack when he had been approached a little less than a day after his rematch with Sahaquiel. However it turned out that it was not another angel attack. Instead something stranger had turned up, and after much deliberation, the Overseers had decided that he should be there. So it was with much anxiety that Shinji was once again ushered into a waiting helicopter. The first leg of his journey had taken around half an hour and had ended with him arriving at a small Foundation airstrip still situated high in the mountains. From there he had taken a jet for three hours before landing in a desert and being flown the rest of the way on another helicopter. Thus, despite the oppressive heat and glaring sun, Shinji was at least thankful he had finally gotten the chance to stretch his legs. Surveying the nearby landscape he still saw no sign of what he had been brought to look at. In the distance was a very tall fence with a large white tarp plastered over it. Shinji guessed that whatever he had come for, it was behind that. 

“Shinji!” The brown haired pilot turned at the sound of his name. Kaworu stood on the steps of a nearby trailer office waving. Shinji smiled at the sight of his love and jogged over as the guards moved out of the way.

“Kaworu, what’s going on?” Shinji asked after they had shared a warm embrace.  
“Something very unexpected has turned up.” The doctor explained as they walked down the stairs and rounded behind the trailer. “It was photographed from orbit about two hours after Sahaquiel was vanquished,”

“Ok….” Shinji trailed off. “But what is it?”

The angel pursed his lips as he approached a door in the fence. “I think...it would be best to show you.” He inserted a key on the bolt lock and after a few seconds of jangling, pushed the door open and ushered Shinji inside the perimeter. The third child gave his companion a questioning look before he walked through. 

Shinji blinked as the object came into view. He blinked again, then his eyes widened in shock and recognition. “No...how…?” The pilot’s mouth fell open as he gawked at the impossibility in front of him. The last angel walked up alongside him.  
“I do not know either, However what little data there is suggests that it was transported here the same way you and I were.” There was a long pause as Shinji collected himself and began to survey the great onyx pyramid.  
“The order from the council came in four hours ago.” Kaworu continued. “We are to lead an expedition into it.” Shinji shivered despite the desert sun. The memories of those hallways were still clear in his mind, seeing the destruction the JSSDF had wrought, reliving the death and violence of third impact. He felt sick at the suggestion of having to go through that labyrinth again even if it was- A warm hand closed around his. Shinji jolted and turned to see his companion leaning in. “I will be with you this time.” Kaworu said with a reassuring smile. Shinji’s breathing steadied as he swallowed. There was a long pause between the two of them before Shinji finally nodded.  
“Tau 5 will be with us as well for back up, you will not be alone this time.” Kaworu said. 

“Yeah.” Shinji said, more sure of himself. “There shouldn’t be anything dangerous still inside.” 

“But.” Kaworu reminded. “It helps to take precautions.” Leading the third child back out of the walled off perimeter, Shinji was taken into a nearby tent where Kaworu handed him a helmet, a vest of body armor, and a supply backpack laden with water and rations. Shinji took the helmet and stared at it. The cloth covering was a dull camouflage pattern, suited for the desert environment, with pieces of the hardened green composite peeking out from underneath the fabric. Shinji turned it around in his hand, before strapping it over his head. Kaworu smiled. “It suits you Shinji.” He observed. Turning away, the pilot of unit 01 tried his best to hide his blush. 

…….

Several minutes later Shinji found himself fully kitted out in heavy equipment, standing on the other side of the fence and staring at the imposing monolith that he had once called a workplace. He had also been given a respirator which he currently kept in a bag around his belt. Kaworu had declined any extra provisions and would go into the mission with just his normal clothes and hat. There was a thumping sound from behind the pair and Shinji turned to see the four members of Tau 5 Samsara walking up besides them. Now that Shinji was seeing them outside of Unit 01, he had to admit that these super soldiers were incredibly imposing. All of them had already donned their full face covering helmets and were each carrying their massive auto cannons. The hard edges of their reflective carapace were almost blinding in the midday sun, casting bright shapes into the surrounding sands. 

“Are all exploration members ready?” The voice that came over Shinji’s earpiece was staticy and low quality, a far cry from the crisp comm channels inside of Unit 01.  
“Samsara standing by” The armored cyborgs didn’t move their arms.   
“Clef and 6079 standing by.” Kaworu pressed on his earpiece waiting for a response.   
“Roger, mission is a go.” 

Shinji nodded at his companion as the order came through. “Remember to be on the lookout for anomalies, whatever caused this might still be in there.” Command warned. All members did a final, quick check of their equipment, before they began the walk to the structure. It took the group about seven minutes to reach the foot of the pyramid. Up close, Shinji marveled at the smoothness of the wall. He had always taken the train route directly into Headquarters and seldom explored around outside in the geofront. Irantu stopped a meter from the mirrored surface and glanced to the left. Then slowly, she swept her gaze across the slanted surface. Shinji followed her head, his own search stopping when he saw a faint metallic outline on the metal. Hefting the slipping backpack onto his shoulders, Shinji followed the leader of Tau 5 over to the imprint and examined it more closely. It was a rectangular gap that outlined a tall slab with slanted corners. In the middle of the plate was a recessed handle. 

“It appears to be an access hatch.” Onru observed. Nanku jogged a bit forwards, while Munru backtracked along the path they had just come. A few seconds later they returned, both shaking their heads. 

“No other entry point on the left side.” Munru reported. “Nor over here either.” Nanku added.

“Command,” Irantu radioed. “This seems to be the only entry point within the vicinity, we will attempt entry through here.” 

“Affirmative.” The staticky voice blared loudly in Shinji’s ear, as he shifted the heavy bulletproof vest again. Irantu and Onru moved to the door as Shinji, Kaworu, and the other two members of Samsara backed away. There was a clanking sound as the two grasped the ends of the horizontal bar tightly and pulled. The two paused before effortlessly rotating the bar one full cycle.   
Click! Very slowly, the door swung outwards revealing the opening of a dark unlit corridor. Shinji could make out the light green paint on the steel walls and the red stripes painted across at eye level.   
Irantu pulled out a small box and stuck it inside the aperture. A second later there was a soft, affirming chime. 

“All clear.” The squad leader reported. “No respirators needed.” Shinji nodded as the first two members of the fire team filed into the darkened corridor. A second later the walls were illuminated as powerful shoulder and helmet lamps turned on. Shinji shuffled forwards to the edge of the threshold then stopped. He started petrified at the backs of Irantu and Onru that were quickly getting farther away. No, Shinji shook himself. He could do this, there was nothing inside of there now. All scans had shown that there were no life signs in the entire pyramid. Shinji gulped as the thought of walking into a mass grave creeped into his mind. He shook his head again, No! He couldn’t run away from this. Not only because he had to play along with the Foundation if he wanted to get home, but also because there was a part of him that needed to know what happened. Carefully, the third child picked up their foot and placed it over the frame and onto the smooth composite tile. Kaworu and the other two members of Samsara followed closely behind as the whole group filed into the darkness. As the sunlight grew dimmer, Shinji reached into his backpack and retrieved a large flashlight, switching it on. Nanku and Munru replied with more lights of their own, casting the whole space in a harsh white glow. For all the colors of lights that NERV had installed, Shinji had never seen the corridors illuminated with such powerful beams and the colors of the walls became alien under the intense light.   
“We’re in.” Irantu reported far ahead.. 

“Roger.” was the only response from the base camp. Shinji surveyed the walls with his torch, coming across a floor designation. He quickly traced his steps as it would have been from the inside of the pyramid. Shinji hadn’t usually gone towards the outer edges of the structure, but he estimated that from the direction of the hallway, there was an elevator that would take them up to the level of the command center. 

“There’s an elevator if we go a bit further.” Shinji called. “We can get to the bridge that way.” 

“Seems like a good first spot to search.” Onru said. The others nodded. Silently, the group continued down the hallway towards lift. Every so often Shinji swept the beam of his light around the walls of the facility. Presumably NERV Headquarters had also been dimensionally shifted over during Third Impact. However, despite the building having been the scene of a slaughter, the hallways that Shinji now walked through were pristine. No, it wasn’t quite true. Every once in a while the light would fall across a bullet hole in the metal plating or charred paint from the flamethrowers. However there was no debris, no blood, no bodies, not even a drop of LCL in sight. The group made another left as Shinji estimated that they had finally reached an area of the base he had actually been in. Sure enough Shinji soon spotted a familiar intersection. He signaled for the group to turn right as a bank of elevators came into view. Shinji smiled internally that he was still better at remembering directions than Misato was. Irantu strode over to the closest panel and pressed the up button. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. The leader of the task force turned motioned for Onru. The second armored figure joined Irantu at the doors. With a nod, The second member of Samsara reached into the scabbard hanging on their back, and with one smooth motion extracted their long progressive sword. Up close, Shinji could hear the megahertz vibrations as the blade scattered their torch light, forming a dazzling spectrum on the metal. Without a word, Onru jammed the weapon into the gap between the doors of the elevator. There was a short, quiet grinding sound and a few sparks as the blade lodged itself deep into the crack. Slowly pushing the hilt sideways, Onru struck her free hand into the gap and retracted her sword, then placing her other armored gauntlet on the opposite half, she heaved the aperture open with a clang. Shinji shined his light into the shaft as all eyes turned to the newly opened hole. There was no elevator car in sight, only cables running vertically into the darkness above and below. Irantu carefully poked her head into the shaft, looking upwards and then downwards. 

“The car is below us, it should be safe to ascend through here.” The Tau 5 leader pulled her head back out of the shaft, stashed her weapon on her back and then stepped out into the chasm. There was a quiet buzzing as her AT field expanded, levitating the supersoldier above the open air. Irantu paused and looked up, before slowly ascending out of sight. Shinji turned to Kaworu as Onru followed and rose out of view. The angel winked.

“Don’t worry Shinji, I’ll hold you.” The brown haired pilot blushed and turned away, but held out his hand. Smiling, Kaworu took Shinji’s offer and walked the two of them towards the open doors before stepping into the air. Shinji felt nauseous as he crossed over from solid ground into nothing. There had been a momentary sort of weightlessness as he lifted his center of mass lift off of his back foot. The feeling had quickly been replaced by a floating sensation that made Shinji feel as if his body was being buoyed up by a vast column of water.  
“It’s uh, twelve levels up.” Shinji said, remembering how the crew had moved to the backup command center after Zeruel had decimated the primary bridge. There was a call of affirmation from above as the two forward members of Samsara continued their ascent. Shinji put his other hand on Kaworu’s shoulder as the pair began to rise upwards as well. A few floors up, Shinji looked down to see the rear two members of Samsara enter the shaft and begin their own upwards rise.

“All exploration team members are in the shaft.” Nanku reported over comms. Command responded with an affirmative. Turning his attention back to the inside of the elevator shaft, Shinji shined his flashlight onto the walls. Here, unlike the hallways, there were significant patches of degradation on the metal surfaces. Shinji had never been on the inside of the bare elevator shaft, and the sudden lack of a pristine facade made him uncomfortable. It was like the interior of NERV HQ really did match the shady underbelly of the organization. Shinji swallowed as he heard Onru unsheath her sword again. The sound of groaning metal echoed down to shinji before there was a clang. That was quickly followed by the sound of the heavily armored boots on tile. Not long after, Shinji and Kaworu reached the destination as the open door and the two forward members of Samsara came into view. Carefully Shinji stopped onto the solid ground as Kaworu silently floated out of the shaft.

The third child surveyed the now familiar hallway. “Uh, it that way.” He pointed to the right. The Samsara team nodded and marched off towards the door. Shinji took a glance at Kaworu and did a double take. Shinji had expected his companion to be wearing his iconic casual smile, but the face of the seventeenth angel was tense with emotion.

“Something in here is wrong right?” Shinji guessed as the two began to walk forwards. Behind them Nanku and Munru stepped out of the elevator and reported their position. 

“Do you feel it too?” Kaworu asked the third child. 

Shinji shook his head. “N-No,” He admitted. “But I-I dont like the look of this place.”   
Kaworu silently nodded as he stroked his chin. “The temperature seems quite high.” He finally said, removing his hat. Shinji let out a sigh. He had thought it was just him, the only one that was not in a climate controlled exoskeleton and wearing heavy armor, but Kaworu was evidently feeling uncomfortable as well. Shinji pressed his radio.  
“Can I get a temperature reading?” He asked. A few seconds passed before Irantu answered.   
“This current area is about… twenty nine celsius?” The Samsara leader sounded surprised.   
“Confirmed.” Munru responded. “Twenty nine celsius.” Shinji frowned. Of course such a large, black object sitting out in the desert sun would have soaked in a lot of heat, but NERV HQ had been designed as an apocalypse bunker, with layers and layers of insulation built in throughout the facility. In addition Shinji distinctly remembered the temperature being much cooler in the short hallway they had come in from. 

“Let’s finish this mission as soon as possible to avoid any incidents.” Munru remarked. There was murmur of agreement around the hallway.

“We’ve reached a locked door.” Irantu reported as the entire group stopped. Shinji peaked his head out of line to look at it.

“Yeah.” He confirmed. “That’s the entrance to the backup bridge.” Irantu nodded and motioned for the group to step back. Silently, she raised her left arm, holding her armored hand open to the door. Suddenly, there was a bang as an AT field flared and the heavy metal plate went flying backwards into the darkened chamber. Irantu and Onru stepped through the broken down aperture before the dust even settled. Coughing the powder from his lungs, Shinji followed after them into the expansive bridge. Stepping back into the high ceilinged command center, the first thing that caught Shinji’s attention was the emptiness. The multi-tiered terrace of the command bridge was devoid of any chairs, laptops, or personal effects. In fact it seemed that anything not bolted down had disappeared into thin air. The third child shined his torch at the command tower. The large desk for the commander of NERV was still in its raised position. Nanku walked over to the dead screens and examined the length of the monitor.

“Interesting,” Shinji heard over the radio. “There seems to be a large amount of decay on the far wall.” Shinji turned as the powerful beam of Samsara illuminated the massive display. Indeed, pockmarked all over the gigantic screen were splotches of dark corrosion. Onru poked her head back around the far side of the command tower.

“There is no evidence aside from a few unidentified stains.” 

“Are there any retrievable data drives?” Command asked. There was a moment of silence before Shinji realized that all members of Samsara were staring at him. 

“Oh-um, the Magi supercomputers should have some of those.” He walked over to the edge of the platform and pointed his beam down towards the triple set of lower terraces. 

“The organic components wouldn’t have survived instrumentality.” Kaworu said, but then added. “However, the mechanical drives may still be retrievable and provide us with some amount of information.” Shinji’s mind turned back to his surroundings. As the Tau 5 team scattered to retrieve whatever they could, his eyes passed over what had once been the center of his world. Undoubtedly, many of his victories against the angels were due in no small part to the ingenuity of the bridge crew that had sat in front of those desks. Scenes from his memory flashed in front of the dark, deserted room: Misato congratulating him and his fellow pilots on a hard won battle, Maya and Ritsuko conversing over technical details of the Headquarters, even his father grimly watching over the scenario unfold. In fact even while he piloted the Evangelion for the SCP Foundation, some small part of Shinji still imagined that it was the people in this room that were talking to him through the radio. He blinked. A tear fell from his face and splashed onto a dark stain on the floor. That was strange. Shinji’s emotional reminiscing was forgotten as he cast the torch over the spot at his feet. Shinji did not remember pockmarks on the floor when he entered the room, however it had been pitch black and he wasn’t looking down. He bent down and hovered his hand above it, before immediately recoiling from the heat. His eyebrows knitted together. There was no way that this was due to faulty wiring, the entire building was without power of any kind. His memory pulled up something Ritsuko had once said about exothermic reactions, but Shinji was pretty sure there were no leaky vats of strong acid stored anywhere near the sensitive computer equipment of Central Dogma. As he puzzled over this, Nanku made a leap over the balcony, her AT field opening underneath her to slow her descent towards the MAGI cluster. Suddenly behind Shinji Kaworu let out a cry of pain. “No! Not now!” He shouted.

“What?! Why?!” Shinji spun around to see his companion bent over. Kaworu let out a shaky breath and stood back up, a hand cradling his forehead. “It’s the eleventh angel!” His crimson eyes were wide with desperation. Shinji’s gaze immediately shot to his feet, casting his torch over the dark patch. His eye widened as several spots of red light winked into existence out of the murky patch. Shinji stumbled backwards as his foot collided with an orange AT field, bouncing him off balance. Irantu and Onru stood up, turning their lights onto the main screen. Shinji’s eyes were locked onto the wall before the lights hit. Through the momentary darkness he could see dozens of dim, scarlet light. As the corrosion was illuminated, A myriad of orange and yellow patterns came into view, forming a massive overlay on top of the darkened material . 

“Ireul’s AT field is intensifying!” Kaworu cried. Without wasting another second, Irantu pulled out her massive machine gun and fired three shots at the largest patch of angelic corrosion. Shinji covered his already plugged ears as the sound of the shots bounced off the walls. There were three octagonal flashes on the far wall as the shells ricochet off harmlessly. 

“Reloading Ant-AT rounds.” the Tau 5 leader called. Munru leaned over the edge of the balcony. 

“We are out of time! What is the status of the data extraction?” There was silence for a moment before Nanku’s voice echoed back. 

“I have retrieved as many external storage devices as I could.” 

“Cease retrieval!” Irantu yelled. “Our current priority is neutralization of the angel! Command!” 

“Standing by.” The voice of the operator was shaky.

“I need a report sent directly to the Overseer Council that the eleventh angel has been engaged inside of SCP 1730.” Irantu called over the comms. 

“Right awa-” suddenly the line went dead. Shinji tapped his ear piece before turning to Kaworu. The silver haired angel was currently standing over a large patch of corrosion that had just popped up, cutting through his siblings defenses. Shinji cringed as the two AT fields collided with a blinding flash of light. For second there was parity as the two angels seemed evenly matched. Then Kaworu pushed down and Ireul’s barrier disintegrated, the small patch of angel beneath it was incinerated in a burst of heat. 

“Kaworu! The radio!” Shinji yelled just as another volley of autocannon rounds went off behind him. The doctor turned to regard his companion. “Ireul has formed jamming circuits.” He lifted an arm to the side wall. Shinji pivoted his torch over, his light shining over regular, repeating patterns of glowing neon lines. There was another shower of sparks as Munru broke through an AT field, vaporizing the patch of angel with a plasma thrower. Nanku emerged back over the edge of the balcony with a stack of rectangular drives strapped to her waist.

“This position is rapidly becoming untenable.” Onru observed as she destroyed another small corroded spot, only for two more to appear. Shinji turned to the far wall again to see the Iruel quickly expanding over the cluster of holes the auto cannons had blasted into the wall. 

“We need to leave now!” Kaworu shouted. Irantu turned as she fired off another volley into the regenerating angel. “We cannot allow this angel to escape, by my estimates the five of us are more than capable of neutralizing it in its current state.”  
“Yes, we may,” Kaworu replied. “But he is not.” The doctor pointed at Shinji. “If we lose the sole pilot for SCP 6079, then all future neutralizations will be impossible!” Irantu lowered her weapon and considered for a moment before responding. 

“Alright.” The Samsara squad leader finally said. “Safety of SCP 6079-1 is now our top priority, angel neutralization is to be commenced only after the child is out of danger.” The three other members nodded and immediately formed up a wide defensive circle around Shinji as they began to back out of the room. Shinji cringed as the earsplitting bang of a weapon went off and slowly let the fire team escort him towards the door. Just as the defensive ring passed over the threshold, Shinji glimpsed Kaworu dashing past the exiting task force and back into the command center. He stopped at the edge of the infestation and threw his arms out. Instantly a blinding orange octagon swept through the upper deck, burning a through a vast swath of the angel on the upper level and the walls. Ireul seemed to recoil as its sibling turned and exited the smoldering bridge. Shinji saw Kaworu return as they arrived at the elevator. All around them signs of the eleventh angel were appearing. Massive splotches of darkened matter overlaid with glowing circuitry lines were emerging from within the walls. 

“Down!” Irantu shouted as five AT fields manifested inside the empty shaft. Shinji held onto the nearest arm as he felt himself floating downwards. Sporadic bursts of light exploded as they descended. AT fields collided, weapons fired, and bursts of plasma scoured the walls of the shaft. Shinji closed his eyes and held on as the world around him exploded into chaos. After what seemed like an eternity in the cramped enclosure, Shinji felt solid ground under his feet again. Opening his eyes, the third child realized that they had made it to the ground floor and turned his eyes back to their entry corridor.   
“Go! Now!” Irantu shouted over the combat. Shinji’s legs obeyed as he took off in the direction his memory told him. There were over half a dozen turns before they made it to the hallway with the hatch. As they rounded the last corner, the armored figure in front of him stopped. Shinji nearly slammed right into the cyborg super soldier as he skid to halt. Peeking his head around the towering figure, his eyes went wide. The light in the hallway was now on and the electronic locks on the door were active. Before Shinji could process it, the outer door slammed shut and sealed. Then another bulkhead closed violently, then another, and another. 

“Ireul is using its own power to reactivate the grid!” Kaworu yelled. Another armored door slammed shut in front of them. From the corners of the seal, the dark mark of the angel began to seep outwards. Shinji racked his brain as the doors closed in around them. 

“Terminal Dogma!” Shinji suddenly shouted. “The lowest levels of the facility can be physically isolated from the rest of the complex!” 

“We can no longer exit.” Irantu observed as another bulkhead sealed off. “Therefore we must find a defensible position, can you lead us to the entrance of Terminal Dogma?” 

“Yeah!” Shinji said. He ran through his memories of his last few weeks at NERV. The day Ritsuko led him and Misato into Terminal Dogma and revealed the truth of NERV. Shinji remembered the path. “That way!” he yelled pointing down one of the not yet sealed hallways.   
Irantu turned around and nodded. “Go!” 

Kaworu led the way as Shinji followed close behind, giving instructions as to which corridors to turn down. The multitudes of left and right turns blended together as Shinji’s mental route shortened with each passing hallway. They encountered several elevator shafts that had to be forced open and floated down, all while Ireul slammed door after door to try to seal them off. Three times, the angel had actually succeeded in boxing them in. They had only made it out when Kaworu broke down the armored door before the area had been flooded with bakelite. Halfway down the angel had seemingly gotten access into the air and water systems and had tried poisoning them with toxic agents pumped through the air vents. Shinji had hurriedly donned his respirator, but the lack of oxygen made running increasingly difficult. 

At last, on the lowest floor of central dogma, the lone door for the only elevator down into Terminal Dogma came into view. Kaworu sprinted directly at it, short circuiting the electronic lock with a pulse from his AT field. The doors opened automatically, letting the third and fifth children pile themselves in. Shinji turned back to the Samsara team. The four super soldiers stood with their backs towards Shinji, their weapons firing wildly at every dark spot that appeared on the walls. 

“We’ll hold it off!” Irantu shouted. “If the angel shuts off the power to the elevator then you will be cornered!”   
“But-” Shinji began to protest.   
“We’ll find another way down!” Onru replied, get to safety! We will regroup and get out later! Your survival is top priority!” Shinji gulped just as Kaowru stood up and smashed the button to close the elevator doors. With a swish the metal plates slid shut again covering over the brutal battle. A second later, Shinji’s stomach dropped as the car shot downwards out of Ireul’s reach. 

The third child sat back and let out a long breath, heaving fresh air into his lungs as he let himself recover from the exertion of sprinting through the entirety of Central Dogma with a gas mask strapped over his face. The thought of Tau-5 fighting alone and boxed in gnawed at his mind, but he rationally knew that they each had an AT field that could rival an angel’s. Shinji hoped that without him as a hindrance, they would be able to evade it and make it down. His thoughts turned back to the angel itself. From just a few patches on the main monitor, Ireul now had almost complete control over all subsystems in the facility. It was unlikely that they would be able to do anything without attracting the angel’s attention. Suddenly another question entered Shinji’s mind and he turned towards Kaworu. “Wait, how do we isolate terminal Dogma? What if Ireul follows us down?” Kaworu shook his head. “No, my brother already has what he wants.” Shinji looked puzzled. “It...It was after Tau 5?” He carefully asked.   
Kaworu shook his head again and looked up. “No, Ireul is after the same thing he was last time, the MAGI.”  
“That can’t be!” Shinji retorted. “You said it yourself, all of the organic components were liquified during third impact!” The seventeenth angel turned to his companion with solemn eyes.  
“Shinji,” Kaworu said. “Ireul itself is an organic supercomputer, when it gains access to the MAGI’s architecture, it will be able to replicate whatever pieces are missing and fully reactivate all the technological capabilities of NERV headquarters.”

Shinji’s blood ran cold as he understood what his companion was saying. “That means-”

“Yes,” Kaworu continued. “With all likelihood, the jamming circuitry was a cover. My brother has already hacked into the network of the base camp. As of this moment, every single SCP Foundation server, network, terminal and AI on this continent is potentially compromised. Site 2000, as well as Lilith are now defenseless.” Shinji stared straight ahead as the information washed over him. He could only blink, as the elevator plummeted ever deeper into the abyss below.


	15. Between Scylla and Charybdis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ireul's reemergence and subsequent takeover of the remnants of the MAGI have sent the Foundation into a tailspin. As the Angel of Night begins its rapid offensive against all Foundation networks, Shinji and Kaworu must explore the depths of Terminal Dogma to try to find anything they can to defeat Ireul. But in the shadow laden halls in the heart of the black moon, darkness is not your ally.

Site Director Tallerin hurried through the corridors as alarms blared across Site 47. The first sign that something was wrong had been ten minutes ago when a communication line to the SCP 1730 outpost went down. She had just put down the phone when her own laptop sounded a security breach in the site wide core router. From there it was a cascade of subsystems and servers all reporting attacks, intrusions, and crashes. Soon the entire site was in chaos as alarms, sirens and lockdown systems triggered. Tallerin sat dumbstruck at her desk as the entire facility was consumed by chaos in the span of a few minutes. 

It was finally the maximum breach alarm that jolted her out of her daze. There had been an external attempt to unlock the cells in heavy containment, and as a result the automated systems had sealed the entire subsection of the facility. If she didn’t get this under control, she was looking at the biggest incident on site in the past half century. So it was thus that the site director sprinted past another set of shuttered windows and burst into the stairwell. Despite her age, Tallerin was still light on her feet from years of field service, and her bodyguards in their heavy equipment were lagging behind. The onsite security team had immediately gone to blockade the exits to heavy containment and manned the external heavy weapon positions in case of a physical attack. The last report she had received before leaving her office had been an attempt by technicians to sever the cables. Unfortunately this meant that her own hardlines to the Overseers were now useless. However she knew that the Council always had a trick up their sleeves. Several months ago during the rebuilding of the facility after the first angel attack, an engineer had reported that ground penetrating radar had picked up on a hidden room not present on any maps. The room was of course underground and inaccessible, but thermal imaging indicated that there were several active machines in there, along with radar imaging of what looked like a separate, protected communication’s line. If her hunch was correct, then the Overseers had installed a backup communications terminal on an isolated cable. Tallerin flew down the stairs, counting the floors. As she reached the bottom of the next flight, she suddenly made a hard left and burst out of the stairwell back into the corridors. Her mental map changed to a layout of the elevator shafts. Tallerin wound her way through the maze like corridors as her destination got closer. Around her, more and more pieces of the site were shutting down or going offline. Out of breath, the site director finally pushed open a set of double doors to see a mundane elevator entrance staring back at her across the short intersection. She sprinted over and slammed the down arrow. Turning around, Tallerin saw her bodyguard burst through the swinging doors as well, thoroughly winded. The site director backed into the car as the doors opened, but stuck out her hand. 

“No, you don't have the clearance.” She shook her head at the guards that were about to walk in with her. “The system won’t let me in if you’re with me.” Nodding their heads, the three figures stood back as the doors shut. Tallerin let out a long breath as the doors closed. Now alone inside the unmoving carriage, the site director’s eyes looked to the button panel for any signs of secret switches or hidden compartments. Leaning in and squinting, she surveyed the walls, she carefully tapped her foot over the entire floor, she flashed her badge at the reader which gave no response. Finally Tallerin pulled back and tapped her foot in frustration. The Overseers would, of course, have anticipated that in emergency situations, some person of lower clearance might need to have access to their comms room. She squeezed her eyes and thought. Over her long years in the Foundation, she had heard plenty of talk about the secrets the council kept. However while most had turned out to be rumors there was one consistent strand that had been repeated over and over again. It was a phrase that was supposedly used for the highest levels of security, part shibboleth, part cognitohazard, the story was that the Overseers would secure their most valuable assets with this code. 

Tallerin opened her eyes and leaned into the speaker on the wall. 

“Does the Black moon howl?” She asked. Instantly there was a ding and an automated voice began speaking. 

“You are attempting to access Foundation assets secured behind a level four clearance, if you have made this inquiry in error ignore this message, if you have intended to access this item, please respond with the correct passcode. Does the black moon howl?” 

Tallerin allowed herself a thin smile. It was nice being right for once. She dipped her head and concentrated her thoughts again. She had of course heard plenty of rumors about what such a code could be, legend said that there were actually over two dozen different responses depending on the situation, but there was one that floated to the forefront of her mind. She leaned back into the speaker. 

“Yes,” She answered. “Because it caged the souls of the world.” There was a ding and the elevator immediately began to descend. A minute later Tallerin stepped out of the carriage into a short and narrow hallway. She immediately pushed past the door bearing the Foundation seal. and found herself in a small room much like the one in her own office. She sat down at the desk and hit the enter key on the pristine keyboard. . 

The screen came to life already in a conference call with the several O5 members present

“Ah, director, I am impressed you managed to find this place.” O5-3 seemed pleased. 

“Just more proof that our security systems are woefully inadequate.” O5-6 grumbled. 

“Councillors,” Tallerin implored desperately. “There is complete chaos at site 47, we may have a major Euclid-Keter containment breach on our hands, and all systems are down. What is going on?”

“It is another angel attack.” O5-1 said coldly. “The eleventh angel was discovered inside of the main pyramid of SCP 1730, we have lost contact with the exploration team consisting of Doctor Clef, SCP 6079 and Tau 5.” Tallerin wracked her head trying to remember what the eleventh angel was. 

“Ireul has been confirmed to be a superorganism composed of nano-scale entities. After the exploration team failed to neutralize it, the angel gained access to the subsystems of SCP 1730, the current hypothesis is that it is using its own energy to power a supercomputer cluster inside SCP 1730, which, in tandem with its ability to form computing circuitry is allowing it to hack into our networks.” O5-2 added. 

“Physically block its connection.” Tallerin offered.

“If only it were that simple,” O5-6 scoffed. “The signal it’s projecting changes frequency every few milliseconds making targeted jamming impossible, the only recourse would be to completely isolate every foundation site from receiving transmissions which would cripple us.”

The site director nervously nodded. “How is SCP 2000?” She carefully asked. 

“The main systems are still secure, however the security grid was compromised and had to be taken offline.” O5-2 said. 

Tallerin wiped a bead of cold sweat off of her brow. If the angel had already taken down the defenses of site 2000, then the Foundation really were sitting ducks. 

“We are currently formulating a plan to neutralize the angel.” O5-2 continued. “Since the status of SCP 6079-1 and more importantly Doctor Clef cannot be ascertained, we must consider them acceptable collateral, if we concentrate a simultaneous firing of several dozen reality anchors around the facility combined with an orbital strike, we should be able to destroy the angel.” Tallerin frowned as the plan came over the speakers. This was pushing the boundary between cold and inhumane. Still she was in no position to challenge the council's authority on this matter. 

“What about the situation at Site 47?” She inquired.

“All mobile task forces are already occupied.” O5-6 answered. “There are currently no free resources for your facility.” 

“We apologize,” O5-10 added. “However, you will need to handle that situation on your own.” With that the monitor blinked off leaving Tallerin alone in the darkness. 

…….

Shinji readied himself as the elevator came to a smooth stop. Kaworu had assured him that Ireul would not have found its way into Terminal Dogma before them, but they had both agreed that it helped to be prepared. Thus as the doors slid open Kaworu projected a glowing orange octagon in front of him and walked out first. The darkened platform remained shrouded in shadows. In the gloom Shinji could make out several emergency lights that were directly connected to the grid above. Kaworu surveyed the space with his own torch, slowly turning to illuminate a circle around himself. As he finished his loop , he turned to face Shinji and nodded. The third child took a tentative step out from the well lit carriage and hurried to his companion’s side. Shinji was still nervous about facing an angel without Unit 01. It wasn’t easy to forget the complete helplessness he had felt as he saw Sachiel’s mask peeking through a destroyed wall.

“There are no exits from here,” Kaworu mused. Shinji pulled himself out of his thoughts. “If only I had Ramiel’s ability to tunnel through two kilometers of solid armor.” Shinji looked at him with concern and the seventeenth angel’s face slackened. “Sorry, I thought humor would help lighten the mood.” He shined his light upwards, the beam dying several dozen meters above their heads in the gloom “We could wait here until Samsara arrives.” Kaworu suggested. 

“I...I don’t think that’s the best plan.” Shinji answered. “We should probably take stock of our inventory and try to find anything that will give us a strategic advantage against Ireul, any weapons, supplies, or maps.” In the darkness, Shinji could see his companion’s face light up with surprise. “That’s a very impressive tactical evaluation,” he observed.

“Yeah, the training sessions with Tau-5 sometimes went beyond just combat.” Shinji replied. He set the backpack down and rummaged through it. He had enough water so that it was not an immediate concern, likewise he had enough ration bars to last him a day or two. However, shinji had no intention of staying here that long. He had been trapped by an angel before, and had no intention of repeating that experience. He put the backpack on and stood up. 

“I think we’ll find some more stuff on the lower levels.” Shinji declared. Kaworu nodded and shined his light across the far wall. Shinji glanced over and recognized it as the entrance to the artificial evolution laboratory. His eyes lit up. Rei’s old room was just through there, hopefully there was something that hadn't magically disappeared. 

Shinji’s hunch was proven correct, as unlike the other rooms in the upper levels, this one seemed unchanged from when he had first laid eyes on it with Misato. Kaworu paused at the entrance, surveying the chamber while Shinji walked over to the pile of boxes in the corner. Unfortunately Shinji’s enthusiasm soon dampened as he returned to Kaworu with a pile of Rei’s old sheets and a few bottles of pills. Kaworu took the bottles and turned them over in his hand.

“Emotional suppressants, multivitamins, mood stabilizers,” He read off the labels. “This one,” He paused on a small pallet with a few pills remaining inside. “Is to ease the effects of having your soul split in half.” Shinji shuddered as he remembered Unit 00 and the strange feeling of synchronizing with it.   
“I..I think we can move on.” Shinji declared conclusively. Kaworu nodded as well. They continued through the cavernous spaces of Terminal Dogma in almost complete silence. Every so often they would come across another room that once housed some top secret device or plan, but Shinji searches in the discarded cardboard boxes and dented filing cabinets were always less than fruitful. Over the course of several hours, the pair had accumulated a large collection of technical documents and one or two files on SEELE’s dead sea scrolls. However they hadn’t found anything that could help them escape. At long last, the pair finally hit the end of a long tunnel at the very bottom of the facility. Shining his torch over the sign, Kaworu read aloud. “LCL production plant.” Shinji was busy looking for anything on the wall as he heard his companion's declaration. 

“That-That’s where Lilith was!” He said. Kaworu nodded slowly. Shinji’s light abruptly came across a large shape on the wall. Stepping back to get the whole thing in view, Shinji swept the light above and around, revealing the massive size of the armored bulkhead. Off to the side was a small card reader. The silver haired angel walked over and examined the interface.   
“There’s not enough power down here to open it.” He said looking around at the meager emergency lights. Suddenly Shinji’s eyes lit up. 

“The backup diesel generators!” He said. “I-I think I saw one a few rooms back!” Shinji hurriedly began running back towards the way they came. Kaworu nodded and followed the third child. 

About an hour and a half later, Shinji and Kaworu stood in front of the huge door again. The card reader had been pried off, and all the digital wiring was piled on the floor. Kaworu was surprisingly knowledgeable about electronics and had managed to find the motor controls which he had severed and connected to their makeshift power source using a few more components they had found in the other room. Shinji stood up and dusted off his knees. The final check of their little contraption was complete and he nodded at his companion. Shinji cautiously pushed the startup button and backed away as the generator kicked to life. Kaworu waited for a few seconds before he flipped the final switch. There was a clunk before the motors deep inside the wall came to life. Shinji smiled as he saw the toothed plates slowly part revealing the surprisingly well lit atrium. 

The empty red cross dominated the massive chamber, with the emergency spotlights all focusing on it. Harsh shadows reflected off of the far walls, the high angle beams casting alternating stripes of white and black across the heart of the black moon. At the foot of the crimson crucifix was a small metal island rising out of the motionless lake of LCL. Shinji narrowed his eyes. There were indeed a few objects on the platform. Kaworu walked over to the open atrium and followed Shinji’s gaze. 

“I can get us over there.” He said. Shinji nodded and Kaworu responded by holding out an arm. The third child stood up straight and prepared to feel the strange sensation of AT field powered flight again. There was the momentary weightless feeling and Shinji was just about to lift off the ground when Kaworu recoiled.

Instantly the bright stripes of black and white on the massive chamber vanished, leaving only the dark of the walls. Shinji’s eye caught a pinprick of pure black appearing on the central platform before rapidly mushrooming into a sea of ink. The impossibly dense shadow raced towards the entrance of LCL production plant, gliding off of the metal and slipping silently across the orange liquid. Kaworu reacted fast, reaching out with his AT field, Shinji heard a quick sizzling sound as the newly connected wires were sliced apart. The door instantly responded, slamming shut as the emergency lockdown mechanism engaged. Shinji glimpsed a split second of the approaching darkness rising up, preparing to lunge at them before the sight of Lilith’s cross was cut off by the closing jaws of the bulkhead. The silver haired angel shot up and grabbed Shinji’s wrist.

“That’s why Ireul didn’t follow us,” he huffed under his breath. “Leliel had already claimed Terminal Dogma.” Shinji blinked as he turned, letting Kaworu pull him back down the dark tunnel.

“How..” He sputtered out. “Why was it just waiting?” 

“She must have sensed it when I extended my AT field,” Kaworu said, as the pair made a tight turn. “That door won’t hold her forever, now that she knows that we’re here…” 

They sprinted in silence for a long time, sporadically turning around to check their backs. Thankfully every time they looked, the hallway was the same dimly lit corridor as before, no hints of zebra patterns or unnaturally black shadows. They turned as they reached a pair of stairs leading back to the artificial evolution laboratory. Shinji pointed his flashlight upwards into the gloom above.

“We can’t stay here.” Kaworu pleaded as he tugged at Shinji’s armored vest. “We have to get somewhere that can be sealed off, away from her.” A memory popped into Shinji’s mind. The clone tanks. Looking back Shinji realized that Leliel must have swallowed all of the missing debris and objects on its way down into terminal dogma, however the angel seemed to have bypassed the artificial evolution laboratory altogether. Shinji reckoned that the chamber containing the clone tanks could be hermetically sealed, which would definitely buy them some more time. 

“I know where to go.” Shinji said, turning to his companion, before taking off up the stairs. Several dozen flights later, and thoroughly winded, the third and fifth children burst through the door of the laboratory into the dummy plug manufacturing facility. The dim emergency lights were still lit along the outer wall of the tank, showing the massive enclosure was mostly drained LCL and free of decaying Rei clones. However it was clear that the angel of night had not touched the space, as small puddles of Lilith’s blood remained on the floor of the tank and the floor they were standing on was still covered in dust. Kaworu spun around before his torch fell onto a small recessed control panel. Racing over to it, he urgently tapped the screen. Shinji ran over as well just in time to see the interface come up. Kaworu’s eyes darted over the numerous lines of text as he selected ventilation systems and doors. Tapping open the window, Shinji eyes widened at the large red button that appeared, reading “SEAL ALL.” Without hesitation Kaworu slammed his finger down on the option and the pair were met with an upbeat BING! A cascade of whirring sounds started overhead and underfoot as the automated systems worked to quickly close every vent, door and micro-pore around the subsection. Shinji slumped down against the glass as the immediate danger passed. The adrenaline that he had been running on had begun to crash and his throat was completely parched. Rummaging through his backpack, the pilot of Unit 01 fished out a half filled one liter bottle and downed the rest of it in one long gulp. Kaworu slowly stalked over and sat down next to his companion. 

“Cornered again.” He said quietly. Shinji grimly nodded in response. “I have never anticipated that the eleventh and twelfth would cooperate so well, in all other worlds they never even came close to this kind of synergy.”

Other worlds...The word stuck in Shinji’s mind as Kaworu continued on thinking aloud about how to deal with their situation. Ever since arriving in this universe, Shinji knew that there must have been far more parallel realities, to their own. However, he hadn’t given the idea much thought until the Sarkic leader had suggested that Kaworu somehow had powers beyond time and space. Shinji was keen to dismiss these as baseless accusations at first, but what he had just heard was irrefutable evidence of...something. Slowly he raised his head and looked to Kaworu who had stopped speaking. 

“Have...have you been to other worlds?” Shinji asked. Kaworu’s face twisted up into a mask of ambivalence. “How do you know what the angels are like...in those other worlds I mean?”

“It…It’s a long story.” The doctor said slowly. 

“We are stuck in here.” Shinji pressed. “We have a lot of time.” His companion was silent. “Please,” Shinji said, placing a hand on Kaworu’s. “No more secrets.” His companion’s eyes widened as he looked into Shinji’s face, then after a second, he nodded. “Alright.” Kaworu said. “But I have to start at the beginning.” Shinji cautiously nodded. The angel took a deep breath and began.

“Just like Rei Ayanami was the soul of Lilith, put inside of a human body. I am the soul of Adam given new life inside of a lilin body.”. 

“So,” Shinji said. “Are you Adam?” Kaworu stroked his chin and looked up.

“Like most things regarding the angels, it is not a simple answer,” he said. “The first memory I had was of a previous life, when I was still Adam. More specifically, my earliest recollection was of when the Katsuragi expedition first initiated the contact experiment. I remember standing up as my S2 engine went into overdrive and I noticed the chaos that surrounded me, I remember feeling that there was something wrong as I headed for the surface, I remember extending my wings, trying to leave and then…nothing.” 

Shinji quietly nodded at the retelling of the events of second impact from another perspective. He had heard it all before, but it was always harrowing to be reminded of that day. Kaworu continued. “The next memory I had was growing up under the eye of SEELE. It was a very secretive childhood and I gradually had less and less human contact as my angelic powers began to fully manifest. However, my greatest revelation was even more gradual than that. A few years prior to the emergence of my siblings, I realized that there was a great deal of my knowledge that wasn’t from our world.” Shinji’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

“What do you mean ?” He pressed. 

“I had awareness of events and occurrences that had never happened, I knew things that I had never learned. I could name people I had never met before.” Kaworu took off his hat and ruffled his hair as he tilted his head back against the glass. “Initially it was just random thoughts and vague notions, but as my powers as the angel of choice grew, I began to delve deeper into the truth behind these memories. Of course, I kept most of this from SEELE’s caretakers and chaperones, but I doubt they would have been able to make much sense of it anyways; this was not something they had in their dead seas scrolls. The more I concentrated on those memories, the more I could remember. I quickly learned that these recollections were from parallel versions of me, in different realities. I could see their pasts, their actions, and in some cases, even possible futures.” 

Shinji’s eyes went wide “So did you know that you had to….die?” He choked out.

Kaworu pursed his lips. “Time across realities is a tenuous thing and oftentimes non linear, I was aware that there were universes in which a similar outcome of events had happened, but it was not set in stone.” 

“So….It had happened before… Why didn’t you try to change things?” Shinji asked. His stomach flipped over. He had tried to dismiss what the pilot of the white eyeless Eva had told him, but it seemed their knowledge of Kaworu was correct. He had foreknowledge of most of the events up to third impact.

“I….cannot see everything.” The seventeenth angel admitted. “I only possess the knowledge of what has been experienced by my other selves. Even so, I did succeed in changing the path of history in our old world, albeit only slightly.” Shinji’s eyes narrowed. 

“What did you do? I mean differently from the other worlds you saw.” He asked. 

Kaworu closed his eyes. “There was one world,” he said slowly “Where I was sent to NERV before the sixteenth angel, I was deployed alongside Rei in Unit 02 and Armisael managed to infect me as well.” He slowly sat his hat down and gently held his face. “I hurt you a lot more in that world. Through my actions, I caused you a lot more pain.” Shinji’s lip quivered as he realized what Kaworu was saying. He HAD tried to avert a bad future, only to be caught up in another one. “There is another world,” Kaworu’s face did not move from his hand. “Where you caused Third Impact trying to rescue Rei from an angel. You were assimilated into Unit 01 for fifteen years. Afterwards, I tried to help you to undo the Impact event, but SEELE outmaneuvered me again, and I was killed by the consequences of our actions.” 

Shinji felt a deep sorrow well up inside of him. How much suffering had Kaworu really seen? In how many worlds did he witness his own demise in a hundred brutal ways? Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he schooched over and gently put an arm around Kaworu. He opened his mouth to apologize, offer condolences, or give sympathy, but nothing came out. After a long silence, the silver haired angel looked up and gave a melancholy smile to Shinji. 

“It’s ok,” He said. “For me, life and death are less well defined than for the Lilin. My soul returns to Adam whenever this body dies. I've come back from oblivion before, I will make it through this.” 

Shinji sniffled and shook his head. “But you’ve tried so many times to set it right! If you still haven't succeeded, what chance do we have now?” Kaworu pulled the brown haired pilot into a tight hug.

“Because I was one soul,” he whispered. “Even with my powers I was still just one piece of the world, fitting into place with the plans of SEELE and the eventuality of my siblings. However with you here, we can make your wish for a better world a reality.” 

Shinji looked up from Kaworu’s shoulder with watery eyes. “But I'm not important! How can I do anything? I’m nobody!” His companion responded with a warm smile. “I don’t think a nobody would have been put as the decider of Instrumentality, I don’t think a nobody would have been able to save the world over a dozen times, I don’t think a nobody would have been able to catch my love.” Shinji lifted up a hand and wiped his tears away and sniffled. “Your choices have altered the world more than anyone else Shinji, I know that together, we will be able to set things right.” 

Shinji pulled himself off the angel and gave a weary smile back. “Thanks.” he croaked out.

“Our destinies are not set in stone, but it can be hard to change our path when the current is against us, even if we can see where we want to go. However, if the world changes, so do our destinies. It is my duty to understand the choices we all make, and I know that what we are doing right now, is the right thing.” 

Shinji was just about to respond when a low pulsing sound echoed into the room. Shinji froze as the word died on his tongue. His eyes instantly darted to the small windows that looked into the hallway. A large white patch crept across the wall, followed by a black stripe, then another, thinner white zig-zag. Shinji felt sweat trickle down his neck as the dazzling patterns marched across the wall. After what felt like an eternity, the last patch pure black gave way to the dimly lit colors of the hallway wall. Shinji let out a sigh as Kaworu suddenly stood up. “We’re helpless as long as we are the confined space of terminal dogma, we need to go back up.” 

“We can't!” Shinji protested. “Ireul still has total control of the upper part of the facility.” Kaworu’s desperate eyes calmed a bit and he nodded. “You’re right, he will be prepared to destroy anything that comes up the elevator, whether that’s us, or Leliel.” Shinji squeezed his eyes shut as he thought about it. His training with Samsara had emphasized the need to use any available resources to win a battle, victory may not always be achievable in an orthadox manner. But what did he have at his disposal? Kaworu’s abilities as an angel were probably their greatest asset, and even though he could levitate them past Leliel, they still had no way to combat the eleventh angel once they reentered central dogma. They needed more space, somewhere that Ireul couldn’t simply box them in. Shinji considered trying to ascend through the main shaft of Terminal Dogma, but that was probably the first thing that the angel of night had sealed. Shinji briefly entertained the notion of smashing through the blocking plates with an Evangelion, but of course there were none left in NERV. As he pondered this, a fuzzy impression from earlier in the day made its way to the forefront of Shinji’s mind. During the long walk the two of them had taken to get to Lilith’s former holding chamber, Shinji remembered crossing a catwalk suspended high above a very large pit. Ritsuko’s words came back to him A dumping ground for failed Eva prototypes. Shinji’s eyes lit up, he still remembered seeing some gigantic bones in the bottom of the cavern. Assuming that Leliel hadn’t devoured those in the intervening few hours, they would still be there. Shinji shot up. Startled Kaworu turned his head just as Shinji leapt to his feet. The third child turned to his companion with a look of determination in his eyes. “You can control living Evangelions, can you control dead ones?” Shinji blurted out. 

Kaworu’s eyes widened in surprise. “I….I’ve never really tried.” He admitted. “But seeing that my AT field is able to manipulate most tissue derived from Adam, I think I should be able to.” 

Shinji nodded. “Then we’re breaking out the same way you broke in last time.” Shinji raised a finger and pointed it straight up. “Through the roof.”


	16. Breakout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Ireul's attack on the Foundation intensifies, Shinji and Kaworu put their desperate escape plan into action. However, slipping past the eleventh and twelfth angel will be a grueling test for the pilots and their bond.

Site director Tallerin put down the handset of an old telephone with a clunk and leaned back. Since the initial wave of attacks, her site had been fighting a losing battle against the angel’s infiltration. Cutting the incoming line had helped, but it had taken less than fifteen minutes for the angel to hack into the Foundation satellite communication system and resume its infiltration. Tallerin had been on the verge of ordering explosives to be planted on the antenna array before the tech department managed to convince her otherwise. Fortunately, the technicians were eventually able to slow down the angel’s progression, limiting its access to the surface level of the intranet, while physically disconnecting subsystems like door locks or anomaly archives from the main server. 

Tallerin wearily looked over at her new comms system. Laid across a long metal table were dozens of decades old telephone sets. In front of each unit was a plaque labeled with a different department, or site sub-sector. She had just finished her conversation with the site security on the front line of heavy containment. The attempt to unlock the cells had thankfully been unsuccessful; however, numerous second layer containment measures had been compromised throughout both light and heavy containment zones. She took out a clipboard, and checked another box on the hastily printed spreadsheet. That was another immediate threat taken care of. She looked down at the rest of the list. Most of the functionalities of the site had yet to be restored, most of the laboratory and research facilities were still non operational, and all forms of outside communication were still presumed to be compromised. Tallerin set the checklist down and picked up another packet of papers. It was the compiled server logs of the site before it had been sealed off. The tech department had walked her through the events, noting that the angel was clearly going after some piece of intelligence. Cracking the security for SIte 47’s own anomaly database had been trivial for the invader, however it seemed that the angel had not found what it was looking for, because just a few seconds later, it broke into the outgoing comms systems and had begun hacking into other Foundation sites. 

Tallerin sighed. Whatever the enemy was looking for was probably classified beyond her paygrade. She glanced over at the singular laptop on her desk. It was a burner unit that had remained connected to the intranet to monitor the angel’s activities. Tallerin picked it up gently, and began to absent mindedly scroll through the numerous pages that she still had access to. She froze as a new download came into view. Tallerin had been glancing away, but she had seen the designation SCP 2000 out of the corner of her eye. Sitting up straight and leaning into the dim monitor, she clicked the folder. It wasn’t a particularly large file, but the words “CLASSIFIED BY OVERSEER ORDER, LEVEL FIVE CLEARENCE REQUIRED” immediately made Tallerin’s heart skip a beat. Time slowed as the site director’s hand quivered above the trackpad. Did she dare open it? Such a file was likely still bugged, even an attempted opening would have been noted, and she was still logged in as the site director on the burner laptop. After the angel was neutralized, would the Overseers pursue her for this? She decided against it and pulled her mouse away. Then another idea popped into her head. If the angel had wanted this file so badly, then she would at least be doing the council a favor if she found out where the infiltrator had stored it. Tallerin pulled up the server log and scrolled through the rapid transfers that had shuffled the folder around. Finally the trail led to the document moving into the myriad of personal accounts on the intranet. Tallerin tried to follow and was met with an insufficient clearance alert. Another wall the angel had put up. The site director let out a frustrated shout and set the laptop down and frowned. The angel had what it wanted and she was completely powerless. 

…….  
Shinji took another careful step and silently winced at the sound of his own foot fall. It had been over twenty minutes since they left the safety of the artificial evolution laboratory and while Kaworu had sensed Leliel retreating back to Lilith’s former chamber, the pair were attempting to be as discreet as possible. Their progress had been slow, but Shinji could finally see the massive pit of the Eva graveyard come into view. It took them another minute to get to the edge of the tomb. Sliding up against the railing, the third child’s eyes darted along the entire width of the gigantic space. There were no ladders down to reach the bones which had been piled into circular holes. Kaworu quietly stalked up and leaned over. 

“I can levitate us down there.” He said quietly, “But Leliel may sense us.” Shinji weighed their options. Extending a powerful AT field would certainly be risky, however if they did nothing, then their chances of escape were zero. Shinji gave Kaworu a determined nod and the angel extended his hand. The pilot closed his eyes and felt his feet rise up off the ground and move forwards past the railing. They hovered in place for a second before beginning the long, slow descent. As their speed evened out, Shinji opened his eyes to see the dumping ground slowly getting closer to them. Turning to his companion, the third child swallowed as he saw the serious expression on Kaworu’s face

“Leiliel has not reacted to me.” The angel whispered as they passed the halfway mark.

“Good.” Shinji responded. He clung tighter to Kaworu's arm as the gigantic skulls loomed ever larger. 

Quietly, the pair floated down past the flat surface and into the recessed pit where the bones laid. Despite having piloted an Eva extensively, Shinji still shivered at the sheer scope of the bodies. They descended past the gargantuan ribs and spines, finally landing on the stripped faceplate of a buried helmet. Shinji immediately threw his arms out for balance as the AT field retracted, only for Kaworu’s hand to shoot out and grab his wrist. Shinji looked up and gave his companion a smile of relief. Pulling his balance back, Shinji surveyed the gargantuan skeletons that surrounded them. There was no flesh left on the bones, all the soft tissue having rotted away long ago. There were also no cores in sight, the critical organ having decayed away as well. Kaworu frowned. 

“This is going to be quite difficult.” He commented, squatting down in front of the gaping eye socket. Shinji carefully walked over and gazed into the yawing hole. Without a word, Kaworu silently laid his hand on the dusty metal and concentrated. Shinji stood off watching eagerly. After a minute, the angel opened his eyes and shook his head. “I’m not sure if I can.” He huffed. Shinji’s face became distressed.   
“Why? What’s wrong?” He asked desperately. Kaworu stood up and adjusted his hat.

“I can control Evangelions because they are made from the same material as Adam. Since I am the soul of Adam, it's just like moving your own body.” He explained. “But these Evas are decayed so much, and without any cores to control…” He trailed off. 

Shinji's face morphed into a mask of defeat and he sat down on the chin plate. Kaworu pursed his lips as he saw Shinji’s despair. “I...I can still give it a try,” he said. Shinji turned his head as Kaworu kneeled down and put his palm over the cold metal again. The silver haired angel squeezed his eyes and for a brief moment Shinji’s was afraid that this was all going to be a dud. Then he felt a deep rumbling underneath him as the skull started to rise. The spinal column flexed without any muscle, puppeted by Kaworu’s AT field. Shinji gripped the edge of the armor tighter as the titanic bones around him began to shake and rise. Then, suddenly, without warning they fell. The AT field retracted, and the titanic skull immediately plummeted down. Shinji yelped as the huge skeleton crashed back down onto the bones underneath it, throwing up a huge cloud of dust. Kaworu stood shakily to his legs and hurried over to grab Shinji from falling off the helmet entirely. The monstrous rattle of bones died down as the skeletons shifted into their new locations. Shinji coughed the dust from his lungs and wiped his face. 

“I’m sorry,” Kaworu choked out . “Without a core, I can’t maintain stability for lo-” suddenly he jerked his head and winced. Shinji eyes went wide.

“What’s wrong?” The third child shouted with concern. 

“Leliel felt that.” Kaworu replied, rubbing his eyes. “She knows where we are.” Shinji’s heart leaped, his legs quivered. He had to run, every fiber of his being yelled the same command at him. They had to leave, damn the plan, they needed to get out of here as fast as they could. But Shinji stood still. The training sessions came back into his head. When the situation is unclear or unfavorable, panic is a death sentence. Shinji squeezed his palm tightly, feeling the motions of his muscles as he opened and closed his fist repeatedly. He took a deep breath and refocused his mind. 

“What do you need to make it work?” Shinji asked. 

Kaworu blinked a few times, thinking. “I cannot control the Eva without a core.” He finally said, “However, I COULD use my own body as the core, and my own soul as the control system, but that would require a second individual to actually pilot….it…” Kaworu and Shinji’s eyes met as the angel trailed off. A bolt of understanding passed between them as both their eyes lit up. Their lips curled into a smile as they both shouted in unison. “Yes!” 

An unnatural sound echoed from deep within the bowels of the facility, shaking them out of their exhilaration. “Ok,” Shinji said. “How are we doing this?” Kaworu turned back to the empty eye socket and shined a light down. It was deep, but the back of the ocular chamber was completely walled off with bone. 

“A core doesn’t have to be in the chest.” Kaworu explained, “We can both operate the body from in there, the proximity will make synchronization easier.” There was a flash of light and suddenly Shinji felt weightless again as Kaworu lowered them into the recessed eye. Touching down on the smooth bone, the angel paced around the orbit, with one hand on the wall. 

“There's one problem.” He muttered. “Synchronizing without any technological aid is going to be very challenging. I can take most of the brunt by opening my AT field, however it's going to be much more painful than a normal synchronization. It will feel like your soul is being pulled apart, you will have to keep ego integrity, which won’t be easy.” Kaworu turned to Shinji with a concerned look. Shinji’s eyebrows scrunched up and he began to stroke his chin before his eyes went wide again. Throwing his backpack on the bare concave bone of the socket, Shinji dug through the countless sheafs of paper they had pretrived before pulling out a small pallet of pills. “Will these help?” He asked standing back up. Kaworu’s concerned look was replaced by a smile and he nodded. “You are so resourceful,” he said as he pulled Shinji in for a light kiss. Shinji closed his eyes and let his mouth meet his companion’s. Kaworu’s lips tasted of the dusty air, but Shinji didn’t mind. “I love you.” he breathed as he pulled away. “I do too.” Kaworu responded. 

Two capsules and a gulp of water later, Shinji stood back as Kaworu closed his eyes in the center of the socket. Already Shinji was starting to feel the effects of the drug, a mild wave of dissociation washing over him. He sincerely hoped that he hadn’t just poisoned himself. There was a pulse as a wave of energy seemed to course through the entire skeleton. “It’s done,” Kaworu said, his eyes still closed. Another eerie sound filtered through the dumping ground to Shinji’s ears. “Hurry.” Kaworu urged as the third child sat down and closed his eyes. Shinji let his breathing steady itself before he tried to reach out with his soul. Kaworu had been right, without the aid of technology, he found it very difficult to project his awareness anywhere but inside his head. Then Shinji felt a slight pull, another presence in his mind at the back of his head. Shinji had remembered how it felt when the Sarkic cult leader rummaged through his thoughts, but this was different. It wasn’t exactly the warm maternal comfort of Unit 01, but it was just as kind and gentle. Shinji let his soul be pulled by it until he felt his awareness meet another soul. Concentrating, Shinji pushed forwards, the tugging was now behind him, and he was now straining against current. His ego ached to return back, but Shinji fought the pain. He felt his AT field suddenly collide with Kaworu’s. A burst of light and energy almost caused him to recoil, but he held firm. The pressure against his barrier built, increasing until, all at once, the two barriers fused. The pilot let out a breath as the familiar Kaleidoscope of colors washed across his vision. Shinji's eyes snapped open, but now he was looking out of Kaworu’s eyes, facing straight upwards, out of the socket.

“Synchronization successful!” Kaworu announced. “Starting core containment field.” Shinji felt his own body buoyed up, as an AT field manifested under him, lifting both him and Kaworu free from the pull of gravity. There was a small sense of vertigo as Shinji’s sense of balance synchronized and he adjusted to the pivot of the new conditions. The pilot cautiously flexed his hands, sensing a fuzzy but strong response from the gargantuan skeleton. “Alright,” Shinji said. “Operation, Start!” 

Shinji felt the old bones creak and groan as he pulled the skeleton into a sitting position. Shifting the body around, Shinji frowned slightly as weird sensations cropped up across his body. There were two conflicting sensations on his spine, his legs didn’t feel right, and every time he shifted his hands, he felt a twitch in his jaw muscles. No sooner had the thought formed inside his mind, that he felt Kaworu’s response. “Apologies, most of these early models were incomplete and malformed, I had to attach some...spare parts to give us enough structural integrity.” 

Reflexively, Shinj looked down, bringing the rest of the bony structure into full view of the eye socket. Shinji blinked a few times, what was he looking at? In front of him was still just a huge pile of bones, without any clear arrangement or structure. Cautiously, he flexed his left hand, and stared in confusion as a skull slowly opened and closed its jaw. Swiveling his head in confusion, he stopped when he saw several extra spinal columns dangling down from the skull, through the ribcage. 

“It’s a bit messy,” Kaworu’s apology echoed inside of Shinji’s head.

“That's an understatement,” Shinji’s thoughts immediately responded. 

“Leliel has made it into the subsection.” Kaworu said.” We need to leave now.” Shinji affirmed wearily and attempted once again to get up. A cacophonous rattle bounced off the massive cavern as several thousand tons of failed Evangelion reared to life again, long buried bone once again stepping out of its grave to find new purchase on the smooth surface of the floor. Shinji unsteadily pulled back his shoulders, rearing the undead abomination to its full height and let out a silent roar from its hollow mandible. From the far end of the massive dumping pit, a bright white shape squeezed out of the small entrance to the catwalk. Expanding out of the confined space, the shadow of the angel ballooned out into a dazzling zebra pattern on the walls. Shinji gritted his teeth and pulled both fists up; the “Evangelion” responded by pulling up two helmeted skulls in a vaguely boxer-like stance. Leliel took its time, the shadow slowly pulling away from the wall and floating silently into the air. As it rose, the top of the sphere flattened against the roof, spreading out into a circular ring. Shinji didn’t move as his opponent expanded to its full extent, unfurling its hypnotizing design to completeness. For a moment the chamber was silent. Then, suddenly, the mirage shimmered and an impossibly black puddle materialized on the ground and exploded towards Shinji. Reacting on instinct, the pilot leaped, or more accurately used the coiled AT field to launch the mountain of bones into the air. In a flash Liliel was under them, the pit and the floor vanishing in the sea of ink. Shinji shot out a thought towards Kaworu. Instantly he felt a jolt, as the unit stabilized in mid air, hovering above the angel’s maw. Leliel paused for a second, seemingly confused as to how its prey had escaped. 

“Where now?” Shinji’s eyes darted around the room. 

“The main tunnel is straight ahead.” Kaworu’s voice echoed inside his mind, Shinji immediately saw what Kaworu was talking about. Straight through the far wall on the catwalk was the mian tunnel that would lead to the main shaft. Without a second thought, Shinji lunged forwards. The mass of bones that formed the “legs” jerked shakily through the air the whole skeletal mass rocketed forward on the AT field. Leliel instantly reacted, shooting in the direction of Shinji. 

“She’s gonna cut us off on the wall!” Kaworu warned. 

“We’ll beat her there!” Shinji gritted his teeth and threw his full weight into the charge. 

Below the unit, the shadow of Leliel fell behind, outpaced by the levitating jumble of bones. The far wall was approaching alarmingly fast, even with Kaworu’s AT field to maximum power, the neural feedback from smashing clean through several dozen meters of concrete and steel would probably still be unpleasant. 

Suddenly to their right, the Lelile’s shadow materialized again. The black puddle had disappeared and the monumental striped sphere took its place, racing towards the wall faster than shinji could. The pilot heaved the mountain of bones even faster as the sphere quickly outpaced them. Shinji’s brain raced. If the angel made it to the wall, all it had to do was manifest its real body on the vertical surface, and simply let them slide into its stomach. He could stop to avoid hitting the wall, but if they didn't make it now, they would be boxed into the dumping pit. An idea swam to the surface of Shinji’s mind. 

“Kaworu! I’m going to throw the left arm to smash through the wall!” He projected the thought towards his companion’s mind. 

“Alright, I’ll disconnect the neural link.” The angel responded in his mind. A split second later, Shinji felt his left arm grow numb as the limb on the “Eva” also slumped down. Not breaking his full on sprint, Shinji opened the jaw that passed for his right hand and clamped it down over the now limp spine of the left “arm”. With a tremendous tearing sound, the gigantic spinal cord was torn off of the main mass. Shinji looked back to the wall. Leiel was almost there, they were out of time. Without wasting another second, he wound his right limb back and hurled the skull and backbone. The enormous remains sailed past Leiel’s even more massive shadow and slammed into the wall. There was a titanic rumble as a major load bearing structure of terminal dogma was shattered. Instantly Leliel’s shadow vanished, the black pool appearing on the numerous destroyed fragments of the wall. Shinji rushed past the angel lying scattered and disorientated on the ground, before bringing his right shoulder up and plowing into the rest of the barrier. Pain shot through his right side as the AT field slammed into what was left of the reinforced concrete and steel. With a groan the rest of the wall gave way, falling apart to reveal the tunnel to Lilith’s chamber. Shinji ducked into the shorter space and turned. In the darkness he could barely make out the directions. His eyes darted, the huge armored skull moving along with him. There! On the ground, dimly lit by the emergency lights, “LCL production plant” with the arrow pointed in one direction. Therefore the main shaft would definitely be in the other. Shinji immediately pivoted the huge form, planting the mass of bones on the ground, and lept into a full sprint. 

“Leliel is coming back.” Kaworu notified the pilot. Turning his head, Shinji caught a glimpse of the angel’s patterned shadow spreading across the edges of the open gaping hole. As he watched, the flat projection quickly ballooned back out into three dimensional space, filling up the hallway behind them with the angel’s spherical shape. 

“I need another arm!” Shinji shouted as he realized that he was down one limb. 

“Rerouting neural connection.” Kaworu replied in Shinji’s head. The pins and needles in his arm slowly vanished as the pilot pulled his new limb into view again. Shinji let out a sigh when he saw that it was a real arm this time. 

How far were they? Shinji’s question was immediately answered by the appearance of the door out of the gloom. It was hexagonal and just large enough to fit an Evangelion through. Or it would have if it was not closed. NERV had evidently repaired all the doors and armor plates in the short time between Kaworu’s original infiltration and third impact. Shinji was going to smash through this one too. Behind him Leliel let out another warbling, unearthly, vibration and the black inky pool appeared underneath the speeding sphere. Shinji ignored his pursuer and concentrated on his target, projecting the AT field into a sharp point. The monolithic barrier rushed up to face him and Shinji squeezed his eyes closed as he rammed his shoulder forwards. 

It didn't hurt as much this time as the sharpened point of the energy barrier sliced cleanly through the alloyed steel. Shinji felt several hard impacts against his body as the mass of bones slammed into the already weakened wall, finally exploding into the massive atrium of terminal dogma. The chamber was much darker than he remembered, but he could still make out the apex of the domed ceiling. Shinji squinted. The opening to the main shaft of NERV HQ was indeed sealed. Remembering his pursuer, Shinji frantically turned to look over his shoulder. Back in the even darker lighting in the hallway, he could just about make out a dimly striped sphere growing rapidly larger. “We need to get up!” Shinji shouted in his mind. 

Immediately, he felt the AT field expand beneath him. There was a slight ripple in the air around the skeletal abomination and they began to ascend. Shinji felt the legs lift off of the sand as their ascent accelerated. In another second, he found himself shooting towards the locked ceiling at a rapid speed. Shinji stiffened his body and extended the AT field into a point, preparing to ram through the steel plate just like he had done before. He closed his eyes as the armor rushed up to meet him...before ricocheting off with a tremendous bang. Shinji screamed aloud as a bolt of sharp agony shot through his shoulder. Shattered pieces of bone and armor rained down around him as Shinji instincutilly reared back, stabilizing his altitude just beneath the stubborn seal. Sucking air through his teeth, Shinji stood still as the sympathetic pain subsided. 

“The entire arm is totaled.” Kaworu alerted. Gritting his teeth Shinji tried to pull up the right limb, but was answered by another shot of pain. Craning his head, his eyes went wide as he saw the twisted spine and crushed skull that had, just a few seconds ago, passed for an “arm”. His head jerked dowards as another sound reached his ears. The eerie call of Leiel filtered up from the floor as the striped sphere ballooned into the space below. Shinji's head turned back to the sealing plate. Peeking through the broken pieces of armor was the telltale red of several hundred meters of bakelite. Shinji’s heart sank. In their haste, NERV never did repair all the interleaving plates of armor after all. They had simply replaced the lowest one and filled the rest up with enough resin to drown all of Tokyo-3. 

“Rerouting arm connection.” Kaworu announced. Instantly, Shinji felt the busted spine disconnect from his shoulder and another feeling replace it. With a grunt, the pilot dropped the skull and pulled up his new limb. It was not an arm. In fact, at first Shinji wasn’t quite sure what it was, then with growing excitement he realized that it was a sharpened rib attached to a humerus. Far below, the discarded limb slammed into the sand. Leiel turned, the sphere moving quickly towards the center of the gigantic chamber. Then it froze just below Shinji and started to rise. The pilot’s mind raced, they had to go through the Bakelite, but how was he going to chisel through several million tons of the stuff? Suddenly a thought from his companion popped into his head. The weight would do the work for him, surely NERV would have filled the shaft up with as much bakelite as they could, and as long as the lower steel plate was intact, the whole structure would be stable. However, if that important foundation was removed, then the entire plug of resin would come crashing down. Shinji's eyes narrowed as he understood what Kaworu was suggesting. They would have to destroy the entirety of the sealing plate, tear every piece of it away. Shinji stole a downwards glance. The spherical shadow was still rising uncomfortably fast, meanwhile the angel’s real body was also climbing rapidly up the side side walls. 

Shinji turned around, brandishing the new arm, he took a swing at the metal bracers at the sides of the plate. A clang rang out in the cavernous space as the AT field reinforced bone struck the armored steel. Sparks flew as pieces of metal fell from above, swallowed up by the Jaws of God below. Pulling back, Shinji heaved his weight and struck again, this time the entire bracer fell away, letting the plate above settle with a deep groan. Seeing the gap form between the bakelite and the sealing plate, Shinji lifted his other arm and jammed the bony claws into the hole and pressed. There was a slight bending, but the plate held. Below, Leliel came ever closer. Shinji pivoted his head to the other side of the plate. There was still one more set of braces that held the armor in place. Reaching out with the scythe like rib, Shinji made one final lunge at the support. The metal bent under the hundred ton “claw” and snapped off. Instantly the groaning above was joined by a cacophony of snapping and cracking sounds as the unsupported column of resin snapped off from the walls of the shaft. Shinji fell backwards, out of the diameter of the tunnel above just as the nearest section of plate finally gave way. The metal fell, plunging straight through the immaterial spherical shadow of the angel and onto the ground. A split second later, the rest of the armor also detached from the wal. Shinji held his breath. Even Leliel had gone silent. Then the splintering sound of the bakelite returned. It was slowly at first, with the lowest section of the massive resin mass slipping out from the flush surface, but in another blink of the eye, the enormous plug was rushing past, millions of tons of red acrylic hurtling towards Leliel. The angel’s body vanished, its shadow shimmering slightly as the monolithic mass shot fell through it and crashed into the chamber floor. A massive cloud of dust shot up as the bakelite settled and snapped in half in the middle. The top portion of the column was still for a second, before keeling over into the grainy floor and churning up another mushroom cloud. Shinji rushed back to the shaft as the last shards of hardened resin cleared out. Cautiously sticking the armored skull into the shaft, Shinji finally glimpsed the corkscrew textured wall interspaced with the remnants of broken armor plates. Without wasting another second, Shinji powered up the AT field beneath him and rocketed into the tunnel above. 

…….

O5-2 rotated her camera on the SCP 1730 site. What had started out as a low risk exploration mission had suddenly turned into the largest crisis in recent Foundation history. Over ninety precent of all sites on the continent had been cormpromised in some way, with at least two dozen major facilities incapacitated. Even more major, the angel had managed to breach into SIte 2000’s main servers, using the site 47 comms systems. All the AI’s within the facility had to be shut down for fear of being taken over. The camera view returned back to the black obsidian pyramid. The late afternoon sun cast deep orange reflections off of its side, and O5-2 could make out the dizzying patterns of iridescent circuitry now covering the surface of the building. They had, of course, already thrown every single conventional weapon in their arsenal at it, but this angel also had an AT field, and each explosion cleared only to reveal the unscratched network of glowing lines. Thankfully, the angel had not yet attempted to spread beyond the pyramid, allowing several dozen reality anchors to be airlifted and set up around the obsidian monolith. The overseer rubbed her temples. Tau 5, SCP 6079-1, as well as Dr Clef were still inside the anomaly. If they really did have to completely level the facility, Samsara would be an acceptable loss, they were designed to be replaceable. However Clef and the other child were of much greater concern. From what the silver haired doctor had told them, They still needed the weapon, the ‘Evangelion’, several more angels. But beyond that, O5-2 had been the ground command when the child had fought against the last attack. She had seen their determination and desire to do right. Even if their appearance was abnormal, O5-2 had to admit that they were not really anomalous, certainly not in the same way as Clef. To condemn such an entity to death, despite their service….O5-2 frowned as she felt a sudden attack of conscience. She shook her head and refocused on the operation. No, the child and the doctor had to live because they were still vital to the Foundation's plans. There would need to be some sort of extraction operation for them, and for that she needed Samsara back and resupplied. She gritted her teeth. The angel was still jamming comms into the pyramid, but she knew that Samsara had their orders. If separated, their priority would be to evacuate safely before reassessing the situation. Sitting up straight, O5-2 picked up a bulky, advanced telephone handset. The line on the other end beeped once before connecting. 

“What do the internal scans show?” She requested. There was a pause as the person on the other end shuffled through several sheets of paper. 

“The angel itself is generating a lot of heat,” the other voice finally explained. “The jamming is also interfering with our scans. However we are seeing three or four concentrated heat signatures that we believe belong to the Tau 5 team”

“What is their vector?” O5-2 pressed. 

“They...they have been advancing lower into the facility…” The other end trailed off.  
O5-2’s brows scrunched. Obviously something had gone off the rails for Samsara to abandon their standard directives. She pursed her lips before speaking again.

“Delay the operation by thirty minutes.” She said. “Do not attempt any kind of offensive action without my approval.” 

“Affirmative.” The phone answered, before the overseer cut the connection. O5-2 leaned back in her chair and let her head fall into her palm. 

…….

Far below the sands of the desert surface, Shinji and Kaworu rocketed past another broken armor plate. The twelfth angel followed closely behind, its pitch black form undulating over the surfaces as it tailed them in rapid pursuit. 

“We are just about to enter central dogma!” Kaworu’s thoughts shouted.   
Shinji squited as he turned his head from the advancing angel towards the next set of broken armor plates above. Like the rest of the main shaft, the space above was shrouded in gloom, however he could make out the myriad of red glowing points that covered the walls. 

“Do not make contact with the walls!” Kaworu added. “Ireul can still infect this unit.” Shinji affirmed and pulled in his limbs tightly. The jagged opening of the barrier rushed past with a schwing sound. Shinji’s eyes tried to adjust to the darkness before him when a sudden flash of light caused him to shut them again. Shinji pulled his ascent to a halt to avoid crashing into the walls of the tunnel. Shaking the bright spots out of his vision, Shinji opened his eyes slightly and saw the now harshly lit surroundings. The eleventh angel was now fully revealed, its carpeting presence covering the entirety of the walls. Ireul pulsed, sending another wave of energy through its body. Instantly several ports opened out from under the angel’s body and ejected a torrent of liquid bakelite. Shinji reeled instinctively as the viscous crimson torrent slammed into the ribcage of the skeletal unit. He spun around, throwing off as much of the resin from the bones as he could. Far above, more nozzled opened up and to cough up the sludge. As the streams of quick setting resin plummeted down past Shinji, the crimson flows were suddenly interrupted as they fell into an ascending pool of darkness. Leliel paid no heed as the torrent of bakelite vanished into its maw. Iruel suddenly reacted to its sibling, the patterned mass shifting downwards to meet it. As the black pool met the edge of the corroded surface, a bright flare erupted as the eleventh’s AT filed flared against its siblings inverted barrier. Leiel paused for a second as the energy of the angel of terror temporarily halted its ascent. The eleventh angel wasted no time as it expanded its barrier, the orange octagons spreading out across the surface of the pitch, trying to resist the pull of the inverted AT field. As the two angels clashed below, Shinji finally dodged out of the stream of bakelite and took off again. Suddenly there was a shattering sound. Shinji looked down just as the eleventh’s barrier broke and the swarm of nano scale organisms was swallowed up by the bottomless inky pool. Leliel resumed its upwards surge with even greater strength, subsuming its sibling as its impossibly flat body flowed up the walls. Ireul seemed to scream as a high pitched angelic chorus, not unlike that which had accompanied Ramiel, filled the air. Gun turrets and additional bakelite nozzles erupted from the walls. Shinji’s eyes went wide and he raised the AT field just in time for a thunderous barrage of shells to slam into the unit. The rain of resin glanced off of his barrier and down into the raging maw below. Shinji raised an arm to block out the downpour and to reorient himself. Luckily, he was still clear of touching the walls where the eleventh angel’s circuitry flashed dangerously. There was a clicking as the canons ejected their shell casings and aimed to fire again. Without wasting another second, Shinji boosted the AT field beneath him and rocketed further upwards. Ireul pulsed as more of its lower body was consumed by the Jaws of God. A siren blared out, its harsh noise echoing off the sides of the vertical tunnel. Far above, next to the level labeled 26, a pair of armored plates began to close. Shinji willed the Eva to fly faster, Kaworu straining as he diverted more power to their flight, the strength of their frontal shield softenting. Suddenly several dull thwacks of pain shot through Shinji’s legs as the cannons bounced another volley of shells off of the AT field. Shinji flailed, his left arm almost brushing against the corroded surface of the tunnel. He pulled his head up, returning to balance. The toothed plates were halfway closed now. Far above in the unlit portions of central dogma, another set of Bakelite nozzles activated, pouring the immobilizing syrup through the rapidly closing gap. Refocusing his energy, Shinji took off again. The plate was close now, rushing up to meet him, the pilot forced his eyes to stay open as he suddenly concentrated on the AT field in front of him and plowed into the plate. The pain was surprisingly minor as the octagonal barrier flared to full power, smashing cleanly through several meters of armoured alloy. Shinji un crossed his arms as he slowed his ascent to a hover. The lights in the new tunnel sections flashed on, causing the pilot to wince. The walls in this area too were likewise completely blanketed by Ireul’s glowing circuitry. The torrent of bakelite from above had ceased as the angel rerouted the pipes to more tanks. Shinji swiveled the armored skull, frantically searching for any more cannons when his gaze landed upon a small rectangular opening in the tunnel at about eye level. From inside there were bursts of gunfire and the occasional plume of flame. Shinji hovered closer. As he watched, four armored figures turned the corner, firing their large weapons backwards towards the oncoming corrosion. 

“Tau 5!” Shinji cried. The three forward figures turned to face the skeletal monster and froze. 

“Don’t shoot!” the pilot quickly blurted out, holding up a massive bony claw.

“This is SCP 6079-1 and Dr. Alto Clef,” Kaworu’s voice suddenly projected loudly into the open space. “We have encountered a second angel on the lower levels, we need to exit now.” 

“Roger.” Irantu responded. “Munru is still regenerating from damage done by the automated systems.” Shinji looked closer and indeed saw that one of the members of Tau 5 was limping, being held up by one of their comrades. 

“Can she still fly?” Kaworu asked.

“Negative” The Samsara leader responded, before turning back and attacking another patch of spreading corruption. AT fields flashed before the angel was driven back again.

“We’ll take them.” Shinji announced.

Irantu looked over at her injured comrade. “Do you think you can cling onto that?” She asked. 

The injured figure nodded slightly. 

“Alright,” Irantu said, turning back to the skeletal Eva. “Then let's get out of here!” A few seconds later, Munru had been carefully placed inside the cavernous rib cage and the other 3 members of Tau 5 were hovering inside the tunnel. 

“We’ll break through each armor plate as we encounter them.” Kaworu explained. 

“Alright, I’m heading up.” Shinji announced and pushed off upwards again. 

To Shinji’s surprise, the artillery salvos began to thin out as they approached the upper levels. Every so often he would have to block a shell from beneath him, but the resistance seemed to be minimal. However, the battle between the two angels seemed to have reached a tipping point. Leiel was now rising even faster, cleanly swallowing every trace of its sibling on the inside of the tunnel. Unfortunately it seemed that Ireul was still active, as the group passed another open seal, another alarm cut through the air and the plates began to close. Shinji yelped with surprise at the skeletal unit had only risen halfway before the metal jaws began to shut. Shinji extended his AT field wide and pushed his arms out. There was a deep echoing bang as the plates slammed against the energy shield. Shinji let out a strained breath as the plates slowed down. He could hear the creaking of the bones loudly. 

“H-Hurry!” He shouted at the fireteam. Without another second, The 3 active members of Tau 5 shot upwards through the gap. Seeing them get to safety Shinji was just about to pull the skeletal unit up, when there was a violent jerk on the mass of leg bones. Shinji cried out in shock as the whole body was pulled downwards. He only just caught the edge of the plate with the bonny claw. Shinji craned his head down to see Leiel’s pitch black form right beneath him. 

“Get rid of the leg!” Shinji shouted. Immediately a blast of pain shot through his thigh as the bones caught in the angel’s maw was blown clean off. The pilot bit back a howl, but still let a cry of pain escape his lips. 

“Go! Climb!” Kaworu urgently pressed in his mind. Reactivating the levitating field, Shinji fought against the angel’s pull to raise the body beyond the closing plates. He had just pushed the waist above the seal when he felt another jerk on his leg. Shinji locked his elbows and heard bone crack as the pulling force cracked another leg bone. Shinji’s strength was almost at its end. Kaworu was pushing against his sibling with all he had but with the simultaneous stress of being an evangelion core, Shinji could feel that he was out of options as well. Shinji concentrated inwards, gathering his strength and let out a roar as he made one final attempt to push the upper body of the skeletal unit out of the crushing vise. To his surprise, the angel relented and the bony mass shot up and out from between the plates, landing on the metal with a loud clang. Shinji blinked, he had caught a glimpse of the scene below, it appeared as if Leliel's ascent had stopped, the angel pausing in mid air. The question bubbled to the surface unconsciously. “Why? Why did it let us go?” 

“Ireul might be infecting her from the inside!” Kaworu realized. Shinji’s eyes widened as well. The pocket dimension inside that black pool was Leiel’s body, and Ireul was very adept at taking over other beings. There was a bang on the plate as Shinji reengaged his flight. As he cleared away from the armor to rejoin Samsara, the plate burst open revealing the angel of night below. The first thing Shinji noticed was that Leiel’s body was no longer an immaculate pool of pure darkness. It had shapes forming on it like reflections in an oil slick. There were patterns, circuits. Ireul flashed as more of its corrosion grew out of its sibling’s body. Leliel shuddered, trying to cram the other angel back into itself, but the angel of terror was unmoved. Whatever mechanism Leliel was using to invert its AT field, its sibling had decidedly commandeered it from the inside. 

“Lets go!” The call form Irantu shook Shinji from his gawking. Checking to make sure that Munru was secure, Shinji rushed upwards towards the final barrier. The last metal divider had always been kept close, directly above was the Evangelion cages. If Shinji made it in there, they would be back in the facility and finally able to get out. Ignoring an inaccurate salvo of cannon fire, Shinji once again pushed his barrier into a point and drove it into the metal plate. 

There was a loud crashing sound as pieces of steel were flung into the air before raining down inside the spacious launching bays. A blur of pale bone rushed out of the gaping hole right under the debris. The mass arced through the air and tumbled a few times before throwing out two limbs and slamming down onto the ground of the vast, empty cage. Shinji braced himself as the shock from the landing passed. Slowly he picked his head up to survey the space. Unlike in the main shaft, the Eva cage was still just lit by the emergency lighting. The pilot sucked in a breath as he pulled the skeletal unit up. Every bone in his body seemed to ache. Suddenly Shinji remembered his passenger and looked down. Inside the large rib cage, Munru was still holding onto a rib with her armored gauntlets. 

“We’re all out!” Irantu called from behind. Shinji nodded and instinctively turned his head to face the location of the launch platforms. He squinted to make out the shapes in the gloom. There! Just to the left of him, was the inclined rail system leading to one of the chutes. Shinji’s mind raced. Given that he had not seen any tall chutes sticking out into the air, he could only assume that the launch system had been cut off somehow, probably due to the N2 mine SEELE had dropped on the geo-front as part of the final attack on NERV HQ. That meant that the tunnels were now only capped by open air. As if to confirm his thoughts, a dim strek of sunset colored light flickered across the opening to one of the launch shafts. Evidently, the members of Tau 5 had glimpsed it as well, as every head turned to gaze at their salvation. A rumbling from the tunnel below sent them scrambling. Shinji had just planted a cluster of leg bones on the ramp when the eleventh and twelfth angels exploded out from below. The bright dazzling patterned sphere of Leiel hung in the air. Its surface was now covered with the telltale hints of its sibling as well, with iridescent lines glimmering in the dim lights. Below it, the actual body of the twelfth angel convulsed violently. Across the formerly unreflective surface, a massive complex of lines and patterns had almost completely taken over. The eleventh angel pulsed, seemingly pulling its sibling to heel. Shinji scrambled up the rails and glanced at the walls. Far away in the gloom, the telltale red lights of Ireul were beginning to flicker on. Picking up his pace, Shinji clambered the rest of the way to the top of the ramp. His eyes fixed on the Tau 5 team, gathered around the half opened aperture. Above, he could see the last rays of daylight slowly dimming away. Shinji floated up to them and plunged the only real hand of the skeletal unit into the hollow rib cage and carefully lifted out Munru. Irantu motioned for Shinji and he carefully allowed the team leader to pick up her weakened comrade.

“Go!” Shinji yelled, “We can get out ourselves!” Irantu nodded as she carried Munru up through the gap. Shinji sighed as Nanku and Onru finally followed the two other members of Samsara through the gap. They were so close now, this would soon be over. A wave of encouragement from Kaworu washed over him as Shinji heaved the scythe like arm into the gap and pushed. The jammed metal creaked, bent slightly before finally crumpling out of the way. Smiling, Shinji pulled Eva into the much more cramped space of the launch shaft and activated his levitation again. The pilot felt the AT field manifest and began to lift him up. Then the left arm of the Eva brushed against the wall. Shinji felt a sudden jerk as the outer layers of the AT field vanished. Shinji's head turned as he saw the telltale patterns of Ireul spreading along the wall. Suddenly the angel’s barrier flared again, and Shinji felt his support fall out from under him. Throwing out both arms, there was a short fall before a sudden jerk stopped the pile of bones mid fall. The scythe like aarm had wedged into a gap in the launch shaft’s wall. Above, a new patch of corrosion enlarged and began to spread downwards. The warbling unearthly tone echoed from below as Ireul pulled its sibling into position underneath the dangling skeleton. 

“I have an idea,” Kaworu’s desperate voice echoed in shinji’s mind. “But it will be very risky.”

“I..I’ll take anything.” Shinji groaned as he felt his own tendons ache. 

“You have to let go!” Kaworu’s words slapped Shinji.

“What?!” He shouted back mentally 

“I..I can get us out of Leliel!” Kaworu said. Shinji bit his lip as his eyes dashed around. 

“I-” The third child began. 

“Shinji,” Kaworu interrupted. “ I know what happened last time you fought Leliel, I promise it will not happen again!” Shinji scrunched up his face. Letting out a snarling breath, he roared, and pulled the claw out from the ledge. 

“I was going to say, I trust you.” He said. For a second the world stood motionless. Then he was falling. Shinji didn't feel anything as he was enveloped in the pitch black maw of the eleventh angel. 

……. 

Shinji shook awake. Awake? Had he been asleep? He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He was in his containment cell, at least it seemed that way from the layout of the furniture, but the lighting had never been this orange. Shinji looked down. He was sitting up on his small bed. He really must have been sleeping. He looked around the room before his eyes settled on the chair at the foot of his bed. It was turned towards him and there was another person, a young child sitting in it. Shinji didn't react. Somehow he realized that this person was supposed to be here. Their face was completely obscured by shadow, but as Shinji looked more closely he realized that the child sitting in the chair was a younger version of himself. Suddenly Shinji saw a burst of movement across the face. An unmistakable iridescent pattern flashed across the front of their body. Shinji’s eyes widened as a sudden torrent of memories flashed through his head. The exploration into NERV HQ, Ireul’s sudden appearance, terminal Dogma, Leliel, their fight to escape and the fall. Shinji scrambled out of bed as the short figure stood and began to walk over. That was the angel, no, that was TWO angels, and he was inside of one of them. Shinji fell out of the bed, pulling his blankets to the ground as the still shadowed child walked over. He felt another twinge of pain in his head as more memories flooded past. With deepening fear Shinji realized that it was scanning his thoughts. Shinji bolted up just as the door to the room slid open. His eyes shot to the door and Shinji almost let out a cry of relief as Kaworu ran into the room. Kaworu pivoted as he entered, the seventeenth angel’s own eyes locking onto the combined form of the eleventh and twelfth. A tense energy filled the air as he suddenly stopped, Kaworu’s face hardened into a mask of suppressed pain as Ireul began to comb through his mind as well. Wasting no time, Shinji ran over to his companion and tugged once on his sleeve. Instantly the fifth child’s steely gaze dissolved and his eyes snapped to Shinji with relief. 

“I..I found you.” He panted. Shinji’s eyes were still filled with concern.   
“How do we get out of here?” He pressed.

Kaworu took a deep breath as he pulled Shinji into the hallway. Bright orange light filtered in from every piece of glass. “I can push the skeletal unit into a type of berserker state.” He explained,” But we don’t have much time left. Ireul is still trying to eject me from the Eva's control system, and take over the body.” Shinji nodded, he could do this, he remembered the feeling of anger and rage that the berserker mode brought on and he closed his eyes to prepare himself for it. There was a din slowly growing louder around him, the eleventh angel was almost on the verge of gaining control over the Evangelion. Shinji frowned and dug deep into his soul, searching for that raging flame. He couldn’t find it, there was no rush of power. Shinji held his breath as he silently pleaded for the berserker to come over him, he expected to feel it at any moment. What he didn’t expect was Kaworu’s hand on his own, pulling Shinji into a long, deep kiss. The pilot’s heart skipped a beat as the fire of his soul finally roared to life. 

…….

O5-2 scowled at her array of monitors. Initially when Tau 5 had finally been spotted emerging from the dilapidated complex, she had been ecstatic. However her enthusiasm had been dampened when they reported that a second angel was also present within the structure. Her mood had only deteriorated from there as minute by minute passed without any sign of Clef or SCP 6079. The overseer sat up and picked up the phone again. There were two beeps before the line connected to the other end. 

“Initiate operation, but do not fire until I give the order.” The headset modulating her voice automatically. 

“Yes ma’am.” Was the short reply, before the Overseer slammed the phone down again. Turning back to her monitor, she frowned and zoomed in. Something was happening at the same place that Tau 5 had exited from. From beneath the small dune, O5-2 watched as a bizarre black and white shape rose into the air. She scrunched eye eyebrows and pulled the zoom back. The shape had now blossomed into a massive sphere hovering silently above the sands. Despite the dimness of the twilight hours, the stark white lines on the new arrival shined clearly. So this was the twelfth angel, she thought, seizing up the enemy. No, there was something else emerging as well. Her camera refocused to the ground. Across the sands, an impossibly dark shadow crested the dune. Both entities seemed to be covered with the same patterns that were forming on the pyramid. O5-2 narrowed her eyes. At last, both enemies had finally shown themselves, it was now or never, she couldn't afford to wait for the two remaining personnel, she had to kill these angels now. Her hand went for the phone but then paused. Something was happening again on the screen. The sphere suddenly turned solidly black and the strange shadow underneath was heaving and shifting, causing tremors to shoot through the sand. Suddenly the sphere distended as something pushed out from within. There was a pop and burst of blood as a gigantic bonny claw erupted from the torn surface. The scythe like structure paused for a second, before viciously cutting a wide arc across the sphere, dismembering the strange creature. A shower of blood poured onto the sand in a wave. O5-2 sat stunned as a massive skeletal hand extended out of the running shape and pulled away the tatters of the ruined sphere. A gigantic skeleton was revealed as the last of the bloodied remnants slipped off. Its cycloptic skull was encased in a streamlined helmet that seemed to be fused to the bone. The gigantic head stuck itself out and snapped its jaws open, in a mock approximation of a roar. O5-2 was dumbstruck as this thing stood to its full height on the still floating mass of tissue and arced its spine, letting out another silent roar. Suddenly from around it, she saw a reflective stream pouring out, the flow was covered with those iridescent patterns as well. Her eyes widened. That was the eleventh angel, had it been hiding inside of the other one? Before she could react, the skeletal abomination stretched its neck out, before the skull shot clean off of its body. The projectile arced through the air, crashing down on the sands beyond the perimeter. The sound of the landing shook the Overseer from her stupor. Immediately picking up the phone, she shouted. “FIRE NOW!” 

There was a sudden flash on the screen as the several dozen reality anchors around the edge of the perimeter went off at once. O5-2 winced as the speakers let out a loud feedback screech. Immediately on a side monitor, the orbital bombardment platforms fired a volley of powerful ordnance. O5-2 held her breath as the screen cleared from the interference of the reality anchors. All the angelic patterns on the pyramid, on the sands, and spilling from the ruined sphere quivered as the neutralizing pulse washed over them. O5-2 gripped her desk as she saw the shimmers of their AT barrier dissipating. A second later, the entire scene exploded as the ordnance finally arrived. The Overseer let out a shaky breath and sat back as the entire perimeter was consumed in a fiery apocalypse. The hypersonic armor piercing ordnance would be able to strike well into even the deepest parts of the facility several kilometers down. With the AT field neutralized, there was no escape for the angel. She checked another monitor. The massive attack on Foundation networks was already beginning to clear up, with multiple sites reporting the intruder retreating from their servers. She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The nightmare was finally over. 

…….

Shinji shakily rose to his feet as the cacophony outside died down. It had been several minutes   
Since they had launched the skull of their makeshift unit as an escape pod. Kaworu had managed to cushion their fall, but they hadn’t dared to leave the eye socket while the bombardment raged outside. Finally, in the eerie slice Shinji walked to the edge of the socket and rolled out into the sand with a sigh. Kaworu followed and hopped out, sitting on the dune next to him. The third child sucked in huge gulps of air and tasted the smoke and ash from the massive kinetic strike. They sat there for a long time. 

It was Shinji who broke the silence. Eventually, the third child sat up and turned to his companion. 

“We...We did it.” He said, half a statement, half a question. Kaworu turned to him with a slight smile and nodded.

“I have never seen anything like that Shinji.” Kaworu said. “You are an amazing pilot.” Shinji let himself smile at Kaworu’s compliment, and even let out a small giggle. 

“Thanks.” He sheepishly said. “What you did with that skeleton, that was pretty amazing too.”   
The angel’s smile widened and he stood up offering Shinji his hand.

“Let’s go.” He continued. “They’ll be looking for us.” Shinji nodded and sprung up, giving Kaworu a small kiss on his cheek, before slipping his hand into his companion’s. Then the pair turned towards the nearest foundation trailer and walked off, leaving the massive skull in the sand behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was quite a difficult chapter to work on, apologies for the delay. Summer classes are kinda eating into my time, but I will still try to update as frequently as I can.


	17. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As site 47 recovers from the aftermath of Ireul's intrusion into the network, researcher Heian stumbles across a piece of data that that will uncover the key to the most hidden secrets of the O5 council.

Researcher Heian lazily swiped her badge across the card reader. The mandatory period of clean up after an angel attack had almost become routine at this point. The site would usually be in repair mode for one or two days before everything was sorted. Unfortunately the severity of the last attack had left large sections of the site inoperable for nearly a full week. While Heian had been grateful for the paid time off, her concern about the angels had grown. It was one thing to write about the properties of a hypothetical anomaly in a report, it was quite another to witness said anomaly nearly destroy the facility. The hissing of the pneumatic locks roused Heian from her introspection. As she watched, the double door pulled back to reveal a sparse command bridge. Several other researchers were at their respective workstations, but there was surprisingly little fanfare for the first day returning to service. For a second, Heian thought about being the one to give a speech on the preceding events, after all she was the project head. However, as she looked around the room, she could feel the atmosphere of lethargy that pervaded the air. It had been a hollow victory and nobody was in the mood for a rehearsed presentation. Silently, Heian sat down at her own workstation and booted it up. 

She frowned when she saw just how many files had disappeared. The tech department had warned her about this, a majority of non essential files had to be dumped after the angel’s attack, which had corrupted a large amount of data. There were back ups, of course, but Heian knew that it would be a hassle to request them from RAISA. Absentmindedly, she opened a random folder on her desktop. She cocked an eyebrow when she saw the folder wasn’t empty. In the top left corner of the screen was a file, simply labeled “addendum 4: Theories and hypothesis regarding origins and current condition” Heian was puzzled. She didn't remember there ever being a fourth addendum to SCP 6079, nor did she remember ever downloading such a file. Surveying the room with a hint of paranoia, Heian saw that nobody was even looking at her. Bringing her gaze back to the file, she clicked it open. She was met with a lengthy text document. At the top of the page were the words: SCP 2000 addendum 4. Heian’s eyes grew wide. SCP 2000 required level 4 clearance just to view the authentication screen. However, what she had in front of her was seemingly far more vital. Judging by the large watermark in the center of the page, this file was classified at level 5. Heian’s eyes darted around the room. She half expected the sirens to go off and shutters to come down across the windows. She held her breath. The room continued on as normal. There was no blaring Klaxon, nor armed security rushing into the room, not even an alert from RAISA. Eventually, her heart rate calmed enough for the researcher to look back at the screen. She squinted her eyes. How was it possible that an O5 file, stripped of all security measures, had ended up in her folders? Her initial thoughts immediately went to Dr. Clef. It was possible, but there was little reason the O5 agent wouldn’t just contact her directly. After all, they had blatantly given her classified documents before. Then the idea struck her. No...it was the other angel that had done this.The eleventh angel had had free reign over Foundation servers for the better part of a day. It was probably looking for classified intelligence during that time and had managed to stumbled across this file. It was likely that it proceeded to extract that data and hide it in user accounts. 

It… Made some amount of sense. Still, a file of this level of importance should have been scrubbed along with everything else. Unless the angel had extracted the file completely, wiping all security measures and metadata, leaving the file just another text document that the clean up scan would have just glossed over. Heian felt a chill run down her spine as the pieces came together. She had a choice to make. She could either report the missing file, telling them that she had seen something highly classified and that it had probably been let through by mistake and get amnesticized for her troubles... Or she could read it. But by doing so she was committing treason against the Council. Before all the events of the first angel, Heian would have taken the safe option without a second thought. But now, after seeing all the twisted designs that unerlaid the whole world, there was really only one option. 

With a shaking hand, she quickly scrolled back up to the top and began to read. It was difficult, as expected, the page was the beginning of a long addendum that frequently referenced the main file that Heian had never laid eyes on. Progress was slow, and she made routine glances over her shoulder out of anxiety. Yet despite that, a picture of the anomaly described within slowly began to form. SCP 2000 was a facility of some sort, ostensibly built by the Foundation, that somehow acted as a contingency for K-class scenarios. She was able to gather that, at its core, there was an organic anomaly that was somehow the source of the function of SCP 2000 (which as far as she could gather had something to do with the repopulation of the earth). The first piece of speculation was on the origins of this central anomaly, which the document referred to as the L-component. The hypothesis presented was that the object was of extra dimensional origin, and that it had landed on Earth quite a long time ago. Going by some evidence of sediment deposits that Heian didn’t bother to read, the L- component had gotten here a few thousand years ago. The second portion was a compilation of possible effects the anomaly had caused prior to containment. From what Heian could gather, whatever the L-Component was, it was massive in scale, at least several kilometers across. However, despite the fact that it had been buried for several millennia before the Foundation’s containment of it, the document was quite clear that it seemed to have affected SCP 2000’s last activation. Heian scrunched her eyebrows, momentarily checking over her shoulder for any chance of accidental discovery. If SCP 2000 had been constructed by the Foundation, then how had its last activation been thousands of years ago? If SCP 2000 had activated, then did that mean there had been a K class scenario that had been totally erased from history? And what were the ramblings about assumed genetic alterations to the “new population”? Heian scanned through the rest of the document, but there was no clarification. It was just more talk about theories and hypotheses. Some terms regarding biology and anomalous organics she recognized, but other words about reality bending and esoteric energies that she did not. Reaching the end, she hurriedly closed the file and leaned back. Her heart pounded in her ears, and her stomach made somersaults. She had not only breached one of the highest levels of security of the Foundation, but had come so close to finally figuring out the whole puzzle of the entire angel situation. Why was the eleventh angel after this file specifically? Was the L-component related to them? How was it possible that a massive technological complex had been activated thousands of years ago? There were no answers in the file, she needed to look elsewhere. Then a thought appeared in her head. Or she could ask someone, someone that had revealed secrets like this before, someone who knew far more than they ever let on. 

…….

Kaworu sat up as someone knocked on his door. He puzzled for a moment as the sound echoed around the small room. Few people on site knew where he stayed, and even fewer had a reason to bother him at the current moment. He briefly considered that it was official business from the Council, but quickly dismissed it. The Overseers had other ways of communicating. He slowly pulled himself up and went to the door.

“Hello?” He asked.

“Clef!” A desperate voice hissed in an attempt to keep quiet. “It’s me, Heian! I need to talk to you, it's urgent.” 

The doctor’s eyes widened. Researcher Heian had seemed very distant and cautious around him ever since he had told her about his true nature. There must have been something urgent for her to come to him like this. He quickly unlocked his door and ushered the taller figure into the room.

Kaworu quickly closed the door behind the junior researcher’s trailing lab coat. Turning back to look at the blue haired woman, Kaworu could see that his original assessment had been correct. She was out of breath, with sweat running down her face. Her hands were subtly shaking and her eyes seemed to bulge out of her grim face. Kaworu pursed his lips as he offered the shaken researcher a seat. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked slowly. Heian took a deep breath and glanced around the room. 

“Are there cameras in here?” She asked. Kaworu began to shake his head, but then immediately pulled out his phone, flipped it over, and removed the battery. It never hurt to be too cautious. 

“There shouldn't be anything in here now.” He said looking back up.

Heian cautiously nodded and swallowed. “I…” She began. “I think I just stumbled across something really, really big..” Her voice trembled. “I-uh found a file on my computer, I think it was probably leftover from the last angel attack, the one that hacked into our database. It didn’t have any security features or anything, and so I just opened it…” Heian trailed off. 

“What was it?” Kaworu cautiously asked. 

“It was O5 level classified,” she answered, looking up at his face. “It was an addendum to SCP 2000 and there was a lot of stuff I wasn’t supposed to see.” Kaworu nodded in understanding. The basic file was classified level 4, but beyond that, there was stuff in there that even he didn't have access to. 

“But, I made my choice.” Heian said, her voice suddenly determined. “Whatever they do to me, I at least have proof of the truth.” 

“What did you find?” Kaworu’s curiosity was piqued. 

“That's why I came to you,” Heian explained. “I...I don’t know what to make of this document.” She took out a stack of paper. “I printed the thing out, so that they won’t know that I gave it to you.” Kaworu nodded and took the stack of papers. The document was an addendum to the main file of SCP 2000. His widened when he realized that this was one of those forbidden files that had been off limits to even himself. He hurriedly flipped through the pages. There was information about Lilith that he had never seen before. The approximate age of the skull, the estimated date of arrival, and most importantly, speculation on how Lilith had changed the genetic composition of the entire globe. 

“The addendum kept referencing back to the functions of SCP 2000,” Heian said as she stood up to look over Kaworu’s shoulder. “But I have no idea what that anomaly does, the most I could make out was that it’s some kind of Overseer contingency for disaster scenarios.” Kaworu nodded.

“That is part of it,” he said as he looked more closely at the speculations. “But SCP 2000 is more specific than that, its primary purpose is to produce enough new humans to repopulate the planet in the aftermath of an extinction event, but…” Kaworu narrowed his eyes. This document claimed that the latest activation of the device had been several thousand years ago. That was impossible, he knew that the council wasn’t even fully aware of the properties of Lilith before his arrival, and Lilith - the L component - served as the core genetic source for all the new humans made by SCP 2000. The Council had only managed to secure the skull a few years before his own arrival so how could the machine have been activated thousands of years ago? 

Kaworu barely noticed Heian silence until the researcher sat down with a hand on her forehead.  
“Producing more humans…” She trailed off. “So…. then that means….The Foundation has failed before.” Kaworu quickly turned his head at the words. His mind raced, did that make sense? This addendum claimed that Lilith’s bisected skull had been on the planet for a few thousand years, just a little bit older than the last activation of the machine. Combined with the fact that every person on this planet had a nearly identical genetic match to Rei Ayanami, who was the dominant soul inside of Lilith at the moment of instrumentality, this couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. Kaworu sat the papers down, pulled a leg over the other one, and thought.

“Sooo….” Heian wondered aloud. “There was a version of the SCP Foundation present thousands of years ago, but then something happened that killed everyone, but SCP 2000 reactivated and set history back to the bronze age...but how does the “L-component” figure into this?” 

The revelation hit Kaworu like a bolt out of the blue. All of his movements froze as the idea crystallized in his mind. A singular image of Lilith’s decapitated head falling towards a planet’s surface. Her massive vacant smile looming wider than the horizon. Then an explosion, as the most powerful S2 engine in existence experienced a runaway reaction from being overtaxed by the interdimensional jump. The results were almost exactly like the events of second impact, but exponentially larger, The only lilim things to survive the apocalypse would have been a massive skull, burned clean of flesh, and an indestructible underground fortress situated over a dormant supervolcano. From there it was a simple inference of what happened. Lilith's residual anti-AT field would have destroyed any baseline human tissue at an atomic level, and so without any material to work with, the contingency would remain silent until it found a replacement. There were drones stored in the cavernous spaces of Site 2000, machines whose purpose was to retrieve any tissue and resources in case the facility’s own materials fell short or were compromised. Of course, in a world cleansed of all lilim, the only source for human DNA would have been Lilith herself, and Lilith’s genetic code had been rewritten to mirror that of a certain blue haired girl: part angel, part human. So without anything else to work with, SCP 2000 would have done the only thing it could have, rebuilding civilization from the start, with a new batch of humans formed directly from Lilith’s flesh. 

Kaworu drew in a deep breath as the pieces finally fit into place. The enlightenment must have been visible as Heian sat up straight and looked at him expectantly. 

“I believe I have an idea of the truth.” Kaworu said quietly. Pulling himself up, the silver haired doctor stood up and began to pace the room. Methodically, he began to detail the workings of his theories. Heian slowly nodded as more and more of the Overseer's secrets slowly spilled out into the light. Kaworu told the researcher about how SCP 2000 worked, what lay at the heart of the massive contraption, and his own hypothesis of what happened. As he finished, the researcher’s face had contorted into a grim mask of deep concern. 

“That…..is a lot to take in…So the L component is the same thing as that Lilith creature that the angel’s are after…. Which is also responsible for the genetic similarity of all modern humans.” She said flatly. “I’m not sure how much of that I can honestly believe.”  
Kaworu gave a grim nod. “I am honestly not too sure myself, but that is the most I can make out from this document.” Heian nodded and slowly stood up. 

“I suppose that’s fair enough.” She mumbled. “I.. have to get going, I need to start covering my tracks if the-” Heian was interrupted as a loud alarm cut through the silence. The junior researcher went paler than she already was at the sound, and a sudden look of panic spread across her face. Kaworu bolted up as well to confront the security guards that were sure to come busting down the door. But there was nothing. The alarm kept blaring as a voice appeared over the intercom. 

“Hostile entities detected enroute towards this facility. Preliminary scans suggest a Sarkic assault team led by a large humanoid creature.” Kaworu’s eyes widened as thunder cracked outside.

…….

Shinji bolted up as the alarm ripped through the hallway outside of his cell. Was it another angel attack? Shinji's mind spun as he tried to recall what the next angel was. Then the announcement over the speakers came. It was a Sarkic attack force. His blood froze as he imagined the white, eyeless Eva stomping across the hills towards the site, the massive pale foot crushing through the hallways...just like Sachiel. He had to get to Unit 01. Shinji scrambled and pressed the buzzer next to his bed. The red light on the nearby speaker came on.

“Hello?” He called desperately into the microphone. “Is- Is researcher Heian there? I need to get to Unit 01- er SCP 6079”

There was a short pause before the door opened. Shinji turned to see the guard captain standing in the doorway. 

“We need to evacuate to heavy containment, now!” She said. “They’ve already breached the outer perimeter!” As if on queue, a deep, thundering roar echoed from above followed by a sharp crash as the Sarkic titan breached through the walls of the facility. 

“No!” Shinji shouted back. “I can hold them off, I just need to get to my Eva!” The captain narrowed her eyes. 

“There are procedures in place for a reason,” She began. “We still don’t know anything about the capabilities of this attack force, we cannot risk you or the weapon being incapacitated.” Without another moment of hesitation, she walked over and pulled Shinji up by the wrist.

“Wait!” The Third Child shouted back. “How are you going to evacuate unit 01! I can pilot it to safety!” The captain stopped right on the threshold of the door. After a long silence, she turned back.

“Alright, but you are not to engage the enemy, this is an evacuation operation.” She said firmly. Shinji let out a sigh of relief and nodded. The captain nodded back and quickly pulled them into the hallway. Memories of Sachiel’s attack flashed through Shinji’s mind as he was led through the chaotic corridors of the facility again. The entire site was once again filled with running personnel. However, the sounds of battle were much closer this time. As they dashed past a shutting door, Shinji glimpsed several armed security guards firing down an obscured corridor. Just before the aperture sealed entirely, Shinji caught a blur of blue and purple, and a long white bone rushing towards the first soldier. Then the gate was sealed with a clunk and Shinji was turned away down another corridor. The pair continued their sprint, tracing out the now familiar path towards the cavernous containment bay. Periodically the site shook as another wall was broken by the approaching titan. Shinji ducked as they turned the last corner, a piece of ceiling falling from above. His eyes raised to the door. It was still intact. The captain increased her speed, sprinting to the door first, and swiped her card through. The lock clicked and she burst through, her weapon raised. The massive space was deserted, with Unit 01 laying on its back like always, and the entry plug ready to be inserted. The captain lowered her weapon.

“I’ll handle the startup sequence!” She called. “Get into the cockpit!” Shinji nodded and ran towards the raised platform. The elevator was powered down, so Shinji clambered up the nearby ladder as fast as he could. He reached the top thoroughly winded. Gazing around the platform, he spotted a small table with the neural headset laid across it. He quickly put them on and was just about to get into the plug when the roof collapsed. He turned to see the captain shout in pain and duck away from the control panel as a massive section of roof flattened the console. There was another clang as a broken steel beam slammed down on the other side of Unit 01. From the gaping whole above, a gigantic white hand and an elongated, eyeless head poked through. Shinji froze as the mass production Evangelion pulled its lips back into a terrifying smile and surveyed the room, then it pulled its hand back, breaking off another piece of the ceiling and forced its shoulder through. Shinji’s eyes widened as he saw a figure standing atop the broad, pale arm. They were cloaked in a deep purple fabric that billowed out behind their body like a cape. The hood was pulled down, revealing a wild mane of long azure hair. One hand held onto the immense neck of the Evangelion and the other gripped a long spear like staff. The titan brought a hand up to its shoulder and carefully lifted the figure down, placing them gently on the smooth floor. As soon as their feet touched the ground, the figure was gone; moving like a blur, they were on top of the captain in a flash. Shinji watched as their right hand spasmed, before erupting into a mass of pale flesh. A myriad of claws and tentacles burst from the shifting appendage, grabbing the captain by the neck. Shinji winced as the soldier pulled feebily at her captor’s grasp. 

“A valiant effort,” A inhumane voice hissed from beneath the dark mask. “But you will not deny me of the prize.” With a grunt, the masked figure tossed the captain aside and turned towards the entry plug. Shinji's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. Standing below him was the Sarkic leader that intruded into his mind. This was Karcist Seryaican. The Sarkic removed the dark mask and gave him a sharp toothed smile. 

“Secure the child!” She shouted. Suddenly the door to the containment bay shattered as several similarly dressed figures burst in. In their hand were an assortment of spears, swords, and other weapons made from bone. Blood dripped from both their weapons and bodies. With a thunderous crash, the mass production Eva finally broke down the wall to the outside. There was no escape for him. The cultists bolted up the ladder faster than humanly possible and surrounded him. Lightning flashed through the torn down wall as the storm outside intensified. One of them shot out a hand and grabbed Shinji’s wrist, yanking him from the entry plug. He winced as they locked a pair of bony circlets around his wrists. Suddenly flesh erupted across the bare bone, and within seconds, his hands were chained together by a pair of living shackles.  
The Karcist motioned towards her titan which bent down and grasped Unit 01 around the waist. With its other hand, the pale creature pushed the empty plug completely into the spinal aperture and locked the sealing armor into place. Then with a mighty grunt, the eye-less Eva hauled Shinji’s own unit up, breaking through even more walls, and across its colossal shoulders. 

“The child is secured!” One of the cultists called down. 

“Then our work is complete!” Seryaican announced. “Retreat at once, before we are overwhelmed by the jailors defenses!” The titan turned around, with Unit 01 slung across its shoulders and began to move away from the site. Before he knew what was happening, Shinji himself had also been lifted up. A second later he felt his captor sliding down the ladder and pulling him across the smooth floor of the containment bay. The feeling of the ground speeding past below him, shook Shinji back to his senses and he threw out his legs, trying to drag his heels. The cultist paid him no mind, as she continued her superhuman sprint across the floor. Gunfire erupted behind him. Shinji craned his head to look back and caught a glimpse of several task force soldiers unloading their weapons towards his captors. One of the trailing cultists jerked as she took a bullet to her shoulder. She stumbled a few steps and then regained her footing, continuing her sprint. At the head of the retreating column, the Karcist whipped her head around to lock her aim on the pursuers. Her arm convulsed again, the tissue tearing and re-knitting together into an ossified proboscis. She grinned before a burst of super sonic bone shards shot out of her appendage towards the Foundation guards. Shinji cringed as he heard several cries of pain behind him. 

The harsh artificial lighting disappeared as the group plugged through the hole in the wall and into the storm. Shinji closed his eyes as the first sheet of rain hit him hard. Despite it being midday, the sky was almost as dark as night. He could barely see anything through the downpour. Blinking the streaming water from his eyes, the pilot could just barely make out the dark distant shapes of the surrounding hills. Closer in front of him was the looming shadow of the Sarkic titan, slowly carrying Unit 01 away from Site 47. Several blasts echoed out from behind them and Shinji saw a dozen artillery shells streak towards the towering Evangelion. There was an orange flash as the titan’s AT field easily absorbed the incoming fire. Several shapes appeared over the horizon as the group rounded the nearest slope. Shinji squinted trying to make out what they were. Another salvo of foundation ordinance came in, the explosions illuminating the shapes in the distance. Shinji looked more closely. The masses appeared to be some kind of creature, their bodies were pale, just like the titan, but they were a lot smaller and laid on their stomachs. Another flash revealed that they each had six legs. The group rapidly approached the strange beasts as the Karcist raised her right arm and gave the signal. Instantly, all four of the creatures roused from their slumber and arched their backs. With a pop, a large, dorsal plate swung open on each, revealing a cavernous, bony chamber. Shinji gulped as he realized that these were living transportation vehicles. His captor quickly ran up the tail of the furthest creature, depositing him on the bench of curved ribs. The Karcist gracefully set herself down across from him and looked back out of the rear of the chamber. The other transportation creatures had already finished loading and were beginning to move out. Shinji spotted a Foundation tank cresting the nearest hill, its turret traversed dangerously towards them. 

“Go!” The Karcist shouted. Instantly the back of the bone slammed shut like a jaw and the inside of the chamber was flooded with the red orange light of several dozen bioluminescent organs. Shinji gripped the edge of the rib as the creature rose to its feet and leaped into a bumpy sprint away from the Foundation. Shinji instinctually ducked as he heard the cannon of the tank fire, but the shell missed and crashed into the dirt beyond them. 

The Karcist visibly relaxed as the sounds of battle grew ever more distant. Reclining into the bony seat, the Karcist turned her crimson gaze towards her captive.

“Apologies for the rude extraction,” she said. “But you are needed for a far higher calling than just being a tool for the jailors.” Shinji’s lip quivered as the reality of his situation sunk in. He was a captive. Well, he was already a captive for the past few months, but from what he saw, the Sarkic weren't likely to give him a safe comfortable room with visiting privileges. 

“Do not be frightened.” The Karcist continued. “I mean you no harm, we simply require you to perform a task for us.” Shinji gulped.

“What do you need me for?” He said in a small voice. 

The Karcist smiled. “You will help me get to the creator herself.” Shinji blinked.

“The archon you call Lilith, is currently held deep inside of Site 2000.” Seryacian explained. “The original scriptures stated that her destruction would come, only after the death of all the other archons. But it is now clear that ancient prophecies have failed us. We must take matters into our own hands, the liberation of this world requires us to usurp the power of the Demiurge and for that we need you and your weapon.” 

“You have an Evangelion of your own.” Shinji retorted carefully. In response to this, the Karcist let out a howling laugh. 

“For someone who has defeated so many of them, you are still blind to how the archons function.” She remarked. “The head of Lilith arrived on our plane, from yours, several millennia ago. Her breach through the dimensional wall caused an apocalypse that destroyed whatever form of humanity had previously existed on this world.”

Shinji’s heart skipped a beat at the revelation. “ However, the jailor’s machines managed to recreate our species from the flesh of Lilith..The council has convinced themselves that they have successfully harnessed her as a tool.” The Karcist face darkened. “They are of course, wrong. As long as her power remains, the spear can only temporarily subdue it. Her call towards the other archons will grow stronger and stronger, until eventually, even the one you hold dear, Tabris, will not be able to resist.” Shinji’s face paled and a sly smile spread across the Karcist’s face. “To prevent that unfortunate event, and all that it would entail, I need you to aid me in destroying Lilith as soon as possible. I need your weapon because it has incorporated both the tissue of Lilith, and the other archon you call Adam. After we vanquish the Demiurge, Your unit will become the sole receptacle of her power.”

Shinji narrowed his eyes. “What..what are you going to use that power for?” recollections of the plans of SEELE and his father bubbled up to the surface of his mind. 

“Think of all the suffering inherent to the human condition.” Seryaican said. “The shortness of our lives, the suffering we inflict on one another, to erase all of that…” she trailed off.

Shinji shook his head firmly. “That's exactly what happened in my world to cause all of this! I won’t help to make it happen a second time.” 

The Karcist’s face turned into a scowl “Those who tried to wield the power in your world were fools.” She sneered. “The council’s plans were blinded by their own preconceptions, and your parents were fools who thought far too small and selfishly, what I am suggesting is a dispersion of this power to all of humanity, true liberation from the oppression of the archons. Every person will be given a slice of the fruit of life.” 

Shinji began to shake his head before a massive crash interrupted the conversation. The Karcist immediately winced and reached for the back of her neck. The transport creature screeched to a halt, and the bony canopy popped open. Shinji craned his neck to see out into the pouring rain. The mass production Evangelion had fallen behind, and was now stopped. Unit 01 had been thrown across a nearby hill and the titan was now writhing, seemingly gripped by some sort of seizure. Lightning flashed as the Eva turned away from Shinji. The momentary illumination was harsh, but it was enough to illuminate a patch of vibrant fungal-like growth spreading out from the back of the Eva’s neck. A chill ran down Shinji’s spine as he suddenly remembered what the next angel was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7/15/2020: made a slight edit around the part where the Mass production Eva picks up unit 01, to fix some continuity issues in the next chapter


	18. Blood and Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All plans have been thrown into disarray as the thirteenth angel infects the Sarkic Evangelion. With the tables suddenly turned, Shinji must decided whether to condemn his new captors, or to show them mercy.

Shinji stood frozen, in the dorsal cavity of a Sarkic transportation creature’s and watched as an angel infected Evangelion roared into the sky. The spores between the shoulders of the titan flashed a dangerous blue as it wrenched its jaws open again. Shinji’s eyes went wide.

“Close the hatch!” He yelled before diving for cover beneath one of the rib benches. The Karcist wearily stood up, her face still scrunched in a look of pain, with one hand on her neck. Raising her other arm, she closed her hand into a tight fist. The muscles around the hinge of the bone plate flexed and the hatch slammed shut with the sound of a closing jaw. A split second later, an earthshaking bang jolted through the entire cabin as a massive shockwave lifted the entire creature off the ground. Shinji cried out, bracing himself against the rib-formed-bench as the beast was tossed through the air. His shoulder was painfully slammed into the ground as the transport crashed into the soil. There shouts of pain around the chaotic space as they bounced three times before sliding to a halt. The orange glow flickered as the luminescent ichor sloshed through the sacs and tubing of the beast’s internal organs. Carefully Shinji opened his eyes. The whole space seemed to be tilted. Seryaican was on her hands and knees in the middle of the cavity, still rubbing at her neck. Her subordinate quickly picked herself up and ran to her, helping her Karcist onto her feet. Shinji carefully crawled out from under the bench, slowly feeling for any broken bones. He breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up and felt that all his limbs were still ok. Seryaican weakly lifted her hand and uncleanchd her fist causing the large bony canopy to slowly open. Shinji shivered as the biting wind hit his skin again. Through the sheets of rain, he could make out the limp form of unit 01, sprawled face first into the dirt on a nearby slope. There were two other overturned transport creatures, their passengers quickly climbing out of the maimed beasts. Lightning cracked and in the distance and Shinji caught a glimpse of the hunched over silhouette of the infected titan. 

“We..We have to expunge the archon!” The other cultist screamed as she helped her leader to a bench. 

“No…” Seryaican mumbled before wincing again. “The thirteenth is trying to reclaim the flesh of its creator, it already has control of the titan.” 

“What do we do?” her subordinate asked above the howling wind. Shinji’s eyes immediately snapped to Unit 01. He squinted into the dark downpour. The entry hatch on the back of his unit was now popped open, and the white metallic surface of the entry plug stuck out into the wind.  
Shinji sucked in a deep breath. Things had come full circle in a matter of minutes; he was going to have to pilot Unit 01 against the Sarkic titan after all. Shinji turned his head back towards his captors. 

“I need to get to my unit, I can neutralize the angel if I destroy the body it’s infecting.” Shinji announced.

Seryaican didn’t respond, but her underling’s eyes widened. “No! You cannot destroy our only weapon against the archons! Do not dare!” She yelled at him.

Shinji’s lip quivered. He knew that the Sarkics certainly had the capability to make good on that threat. Could he beat them to the plug in a sprint? Not likely, back at Site 47, all of the cultists had moved with superhuman speeds. But would they pursue him? Shinji stood in the opening and took a deep breath. They still needed him alive, and they still needed Unit 01. Their own forces were in disarray, and their most powerful weapon had just been turned against them. His eyes turned to their leader. The Karcist was still in immense pain, she could barely stand. He was their only hope of stopping Bardiel from making it Lilith. Their threat was an empty one. 

Shinji gulped and opened his mouth. “I’m going! I have to!” He shouted, before turning around and running down the tail of the creature, and into the drenched grass.

The cultist bared her teeth as the child’s silhouette disappeared from view. “Reckless!” She seethed under her breath. “That child will be the death of us and-” She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she looked at her Karcist who had lifted her head up. Despite the weakened appearance, her leader’s crimson eyes still burned with a dangerous fire.

“Go.” She commanded in a quiet voice. “Help the child, whatever needs to be done.” 

…….

His breath came out as smoky puffs into the cold air as he sprinted towards the looming shadow of Unit 01. Shinji was completely drenched from head to toe as the downpour slammed into him over and over again. If the Sarkics were running after him, he wouldn’t know it with the gale howling past his ears. Shinji gasped as the wind pulled his next breath away. He stumbled, feeling the long, cold blades of grass around his fingers as he nearly fell. But he didn’t. Shinji regained his footing and continued. The deactivated evangelion loomed like a mountain on the slope ahead. Shinji’s eyes darted for a route to the entry plug, along the massive body. Approaching the closest hand, shinji leaped onto one of the massive fingers and clambered onto the back of the armored gauntlet. Shinji was at the elbow when he heard a voice behind him, coming through the storm. 

“Wait!”. He whipped his head around to stare into the deluge. At the foot of the slope, there was a cloaked figure walking up slowly. Shinji recognized her as the Karcist’s subordinate. Her gait was slow and her arms were held up in a gesture of truce. 

“You will not be able to activate it alone.” She said. Shinji puffed out his chest, ready to give a retort. The sarkic devotee lifted up her head and pulled back her hood, revealing a melancholic expression with her lips pursed together.  
Shinji let out a breath as his sudden rush of anger deflated. She was right, the entry plug had no LCL, and even if he somehow filled the plug up, there was no way he could push the plug into the unit while he was inside it. Shinji bit his lip and started down. 

“Ok,” he finally answered. “I-uh-I need some help.” The cultist nodded. 

“What do you require for that?” She asked. 

“I -um I need LCL, it’s like a watery, orange-”Shinji began.

“The blood of the demiurge.” The Sarkicist interjected. Shinji stopped mid sentence. “Y-yeah, it’s Lilith’s blood.” 

“I know a procedure that can reduce flesh into that substance.” The devotee commented. Shinji gulped as her eyes lit up. “The beasts, they should have enough flesh to fill up your capsule.” Without another word, she turned around and dashed back to the nearest creature in the distance. Shinji silently marveled at the speed at which the cultists moved. The gait of their movement, the way they swung their limbs, in Shinji’s experience, the only creatures that moved like that were angels in the fury of battle. The minutes passed as the cultist busied herself with her comrades in the distance. From behind him came another roar, closer this time. Shinji turned and looked into the storm. The hunched body of the Evangelion had turned around, and was now coming towards them. 

Shinji sucked in a sharp breath. This was bad, if they didn’t hurry, Bardiel would infect Unit 01 as well. He turned around and clambered towards the shoulder. It was a difficult climb up the vast armor plates that were slick from the rain. Shinji nearly lost his footing a few times as streams of water flowed across the curved metal, but eventually the third child managed to make it to the base of the plug. Staring up at the capsule, Shinji estimated that he could just barely reach the open hatch, and proceeded to clambered into the narrow opening with a short hop. The inside of the cylinder was darker than he had ever seen it. The plug was almost perfectly upright, and he quickly crawled into the seat to avoid falling to the bottom on the cylinder. Shinji felt a wave of nausea as he sat “upright” inside the seat. Soon, the constant din of raindrops was supplemented by the sound of footsteps. Shinji turned his head to see the sarkic cultist making her way up the shoulder towards his plug. In her hands was a large fleshy hose, vaguely reminiscent of a very large intestine. Shinji suppressed a desire to wretch as the sphincters in the tube flexed. The cloaked figure ran up to the hatch and poked her head up to the bottom of the opening.

“I have a sizable amount of flesh available, as I convert it into the blood of Lilith, this tube will pump the newly made liquid directly into your capsule.”

“There should be a intake right below the hatch,” Shinji explained. “That’s usually where they pump the LCL in from.” She nodded and her face disappeared from view.

“Oh wait!” Shinji called. “I’ll knock twice when the plug is filled, then I need the plug to be pushed into the unit.” 

“Understood” was the response, before the hatch shut and was sealed. There was total darkness for a minute before the internal power kicked on, bathing the plug in a dim yellowish glow. There was a slight gurgle from inside the walls around the plug before the LCL filled the internal tubing and a smooth flow of orange liquid began to pour into the plug from numerous micro-nozzles along the sides. Shinji gulped as the liquid reached his head and tried not to think too much about where LCL had come from. As the liquid reached the top, Shinji stretched his hand out and knocked loudly on the metal of the tube. A second passed, before there was a response of two knocks from the outside. Satisfied, Shinji sat back and gripped the controls. After a few seconds he felt the plug jerk and the capsule accelerated forwards into its slot. Colors flashed as Shinji felt the synchronization take hold, and suddenly he was staring out of the Eva's eyes, into the dirt. Shinji slowly moved his arm, hopefully signaling the Sarkics to get off of the titan. After a few seconds, he lifted the massive form off the ground and looked around. The tempest was still raging as far as the eye could see, with only periodic lightning flashes illuminating the hilly landscape. In the murky distance, the infected Eva was slowly making its way towards him, with its newly generated arms hanging limply at its side. Shinji took a deep breath of the LCL, which tasted more like blood than normal. He stole a brief look back at the Sarkic forces. The cultist who had helped him was now a small speck, standing below him, next to a pile of LCL and pulped flesh. Shinji refocused on Bardiel. A strange feeling boiled up inside of him. Was it revenge? Bardiel was the angel that had signaled the beginning of the end, if it wasn’t for that thing, Toji wouldn’t have been maimed, if it wasn’t for that thing, he might have helped out faster against Zeruel, if Toji was able to continue piloting unit 03, then maybe the following angels wouldn’t have gotten so far, wouldn’t have hurt so much. Shinji felt anger surge through him as he started down his opponent. There was no holding back this time. With a sound half between a roar and a grunt, he bent down and launched towards the pale giant in a vicious sprint. 

Shinji ignored the light pitter of the rain as his enemy grew every closer. The infected Eva still maintained its hunched-over gait, its new pair of arms now dragging behind it. Shinji remembered how Bardiel had jumped several hundred meters through the air to attack its opponents, he had no intention of being caught by surprise again. He unlocked his left shoulder pylon and retrieved his only melee weapon, the Foundation made progressive knife. Brandishing in front of him, he braced as the gap between the two giants closed to within striking range. 

Bardiel was not subtle, and its first attack was highly telegraphed. Shinji watched with growing anxiety as the large, slow figure crouched down, its legs tensing and head swinging low. He brought the knife up just as Bardeil sprang into the air. The targeting systems inside his unit immediately outlined the flying object. He gritted his teeth and tilted his head up to smoothly track his enemy. The world seemed to slow as Bardiel reached the top of its arc. Its newly generated arms, which had been tucked into the roll, now extended and shot forwards to grab at Unit 01’s neck. In a flash Shinji swiped his blade in front of him and was rewarded with a hit. There was a sharp, chopping sound as his blade cleaved through both of the enemy’s wrists. Shinji allowed himself a minor smile, before he remembered that the rest of the titan was still falling towards him. Shinji brought up his arms just in time to feel the massive impact of the other Evangelio, slamming down onto him from above. The pilot heaved, sending the still curled body bouncing off of unit 01 and back onto the ground in front of him. Bardiel quickly unwound, standing to its full height. Its severed wrists were already starting to bud with new growth. There was silence for a moment as the angel’s hands regenerated before it struck again. Shinji slashed forwards but only succeeded in intercepting one of the limbs. He felt the blade cut through the bone of one hand right before the other slammed into his throat. He staggered, both from the force of the impact, and from the sudden crushing grip on his windpipe. Thinking fast, Shinji brought his free hand up and grabbed the wrist of the distended limb. With grunt, He wrenched the arm from his throat and cut through the hand with one smooth stroke of his blade. Shinji began to straighten himself, before he suddenly felt one of the Eva’s normal fists slam into his abdomen, sending him doubling over. A split second later, his face was slammed into the knee of the mass production unit and he was sent stumbling backwards. Shinji flailed his arms, regaining his balance just in time to block the next series of strikes from the angel. Scowling, the pilot retaliated with another wing of his blade. 

The wind howled as Unit 01’s knife cleaved into the flesh on the mass production eva again. Shinji sucked in a deep breath of the blood tinged LCL. He would not beat Bardiel in a prolonged battle, the angel had more arms to work with, and eventually it would pin him down. Fortunately, the angel’s strength was quite subpar. That meant Shinji needed to go on the offensive. Shouting a battlecry, He charged at his opponent as he parried one last attack. Springing off the ground with a powerful leap, Shinji used the weight of his Unit to pin the opponent into the dirt. Without the leverage of the body behind them, the angel’s extended arms were near useless. In one quick motion, Shinji grabbed them at the elbow and wrenched. A sharp snapping sound filled the air as bones splintered and flesh tore. The pilot frowned as he heard a small voice inside his head, something that sounded like a scream. He froze. Memories of his last encounter with Bardiel floated into his mind. Someone was still inside… 

Suddenly, a spike of pain shot through his face as Bardiel launched a huge fist into the helmet of Unit 01. Shinji toppled backwards off his opponent and crashed into the mud with a large splash. Slowly,the angel pulled itself up again. 

Shinji growled as he saw the wide, eyeless grin spread across his opponent's face. Shinji’s combat training kicked into gear. Even if there was someone inside of that thing, he couldn’t save them without first killing the angel, and to do that he needed to rip out the source of the infection, the plug area. Shinji flipped his knife to an underhand grip and rushed the angel again. He dodge out of the way of the first arms strikes, burying the blade completely through his enemy with one heavy blow. There was an earth shaking crash as both titans fell onto wet earth again. Shinji laid into the downed Eva with a series of blows, trying his best to avoid the vital areas. Every strike drew out another quiet scream. Shinji tried to block it out. He would save them, just as soon as he incapactiated their unit. Driving his blade down once again, he severed one of the “real” arms at the shoulder, before bloodying the titan’s snout with a heavy punch. There was no counter attack as Shinji paused in his rapid assault. Satisfied that his enemy had been immobilized, Shinji slid off of the mauled unit and flipped it over. Mud and blood ran down its back as Shinji heaved his enemy over onto its face. Between its shoulders, flashing brightly from underneath the gore and dirt, was the bright blue of Bardiel’s own fungus-like body. Without a second though, Shinji drove his knife deep into the flesh around the bulging spores. He would cut it out like a tumor. Working quickly, the pilot made a ragged incision around the circumference of azure infection and gripped it tightly with Unit 01’s right hand. Shinji nearly gagged as the angel came out with a wet shlokcing sound. The scream echoed in his head, loudly this time. Shinji winced, but was relieved that the pilot, whoever they were, was now safe. Taking his knife, he carefully scraped the blue spores and raw flesh off of the bony capsule, which was similar to an entry plug in size. Setting it down on the ground, Shinji turned back to the limp Mass production unit. He could still see some blue veins, glowing inside the bloody cavity he had made. Without its central mass, Bardiel may longer be a threat, but this was still a compromised Evangelion. Every piece of combat training urged him that he had to neutralize this thing now. Shinji frowned. It certainly made sense, with the risk of harming the pilot gone, he had every reason to turn that pale, grinning creature into a mountain of pulp. Slowly he brought the knife up towards the wound, preparing to sever the unit’s spiral column for good.

“STOP!” The cry was deafening inside his head. Shinji stopped the falling balde, less than a meter away from the exposed backbone. His head swiveled as his eyes locked onto the bony capsule. There was no movement. Then, a figure caught his gaze. Limping slowly over the nearest slope, was Karcist Seryaican. Shinji was immediately struck by her stance. Her previous grace, precision, and speed were completely gone. It was as if she had suffered several debilitating injuries. One hand was tightly clamped over the back of her neck and the other hung limply at her side. His eyes narrowed.

“Why?” He hissed into the LCL. “You kidnapped me and were going to force me to fight for you! You hate Kaworu and want to see him dead! your unit is still infected!” There was silence for a moment as Shinji finished venting his anger. Finally the Karcist responded in a pained, resigned voice.

“I-I am still tethered to the titan.” She said. Shinji’s eyes went wide. All the pieces suddenly fell into place. Seryaican had been remotely synchronized to the mass production unit the whole time. She had felt the infection take root in the unit and had felt every blow and cut Shinji had inflicted on it. The screams that he heard hadn’t come from some pilot in the unit, they had come from her mental link. If he finished off the Evangelion, he would be killing her as well. 

Shinji let out a shaking breath. “What is in that?” He swung the massive blade of the knife to point at the bony capsule lying on the ground. 

“It’s an automated control system…” Seryaican breathed raggedly. “It’s a soulless clone of Tabris.”

“A dummy plug…” Shinji hissed. 

“With the core of the archon removed….the remaining infection will clear up with time.” Seryaican continued. “The titan is no longer a threat to you.” Shinji turned back to the twitching body beneath him. It would be so easy to just end the sarkic threat now. Their plans would not only stop him and Kaworu from returning to their world, but from what Seryaican had revealed, their designs were on the same scale as the human instrumentality project. The gaping wound slowly spurted blood into the air. He could sever the spine with a single blow before digging out the core. The rain fell heavily onto the bloodied armor of Unit 01. Shinji brought his knife up… and dropped it. The dented and weapon cutting easily into the soft earth and staying there. Slowly he picked himself up from the mangled but still living unit beneath him. Despite all he had been through, He couldn’t kill another human being so callously. He wasn’t his father. 

“You…” Shinji hissed at Seryaican. “You talk about how you’re better than the Foundation, or SEELE, but you’re exactly the same.” There was no verbal response from the Karcist. As she leaned unsteadily on her staff. Lightning flashed, casting bright crimson reflections off the pools of blood. 

“I’m leaving.” Shinji said after a long pause. Turning Unit 01 away from the broken Sarkic force and their mangled Evangelion, Shinji began to trek backwards towards Site 47. 

The walk was dreary and long. As Shinji slowly plodded one foot in front of the other, he saw the fresh foot prints of the Sarkic transport vehicles headed in the other direction, alongside the massive footprints of their Evangelion. He only needed to follow these tracks to get back to Site 47. The rain continued to pour down, seemingly thicker than it had been previously. Shinji hung his head low as he let the automatic motion of walking take over. He wasn’t sure if he could process all of what had just happened. As much as he loathed the idea, Bardiel had, for the second time, nearly made him into a murderer. However, now that he had spared the life of the Karcist, what did that mean? Did he do the right thing? Did he just shoot himself in the foot? The implications of his actions depended on a thousand factors that Shinji had either just learned about, or were still unknown to him. As he pondered this question, the radio in his headrest suddenly turned on.

“Shinji?! Is that you?” The third child picked his head up at the sound of Kaworu’s voice. 

“Kaworu? Yeah it’s me!” Shinji cried with relief. He must have finally stumbled back into radio range. 

“Shinji! Listen, there isn’t much time!” Kaworu’s voice came out desperate. “An angel has been detected moving towards your position!” 

Shinji’s eyebrows scrunched up as his heart rate climbed. “I-I got away from the Sarkics...I just neutralized Baridel..” He began.

“It’s Zeruel!” Kaworu shouted into the mic. Shinji's eyes widened, but not at Kaworu’s words. Instead a large, dark shape had suddenly broken through the lowest cloud layer. It was stocky, with short stubby legs, and wide shoulders plates. Protruding from the center of its dark body, was the unmistakable glow of a massive core. Shinji realized that just beyond the descending angel, were the lights of site 47. Suddenly the eyes in the angel’s protruding face flashed, and Shinji’s entire world exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit on the shorter side. Just like in the show, Bardiel marks the beginning of the end here. There will be several more chapters, but we are coming up on the finale arc rather quickly. Thanks for sticking with me for so long.


	19. Betrayal and Reclamation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the hills outside site 47, Shinji clashes with the angel of strength once more. However, the opening blows of the battle quickly reveal that something is very wrong. Forced by circumstance, Kaworu must make a choice once more, a decision of betrayal and of keeping a promise.

The entire day had been a downwards spiral since sunrise. At least that’s what Kaworu thought as he stood in front of the radio station in the heavily armored Site 47 war room. After the groundshaking revelation from Heian, the Karcist had used the cover of the storm to perform a lightning raid on their facility. He had been sprinting towards the containment bay for Unit 01 when the Sarkic Evangelion had crashed through the outer walls of the site. He arrived just in time to see the cultists leaving the site with Unit 01 and Shinji in tow. From there, he made his way to the war room where Director Tallerin was already planning a retrieval operation. The Sarkic creatures were faster than anticipated, and had managed to outrun a pursuing armored platoon. Then the Hume alarms went off. Kaworu’s heart leapt into his throat as the first readings of the thirteenth angel returned. The silver haired doctor silently hoped that Shinji would be alright. Thankfully, Unit 01’s signature activated several minutes later, followed quickly by a battle of some sort, in which the third child had been victorious. Kaworu had barely let out a sigh of relief, before the alarms went off again. The screen showed a massive hume reading. Several dozen times the intensity of the thirteenth angel slowly descending through the anvil of the storm. Kaworu must have given a visible shudder as all eyes were suddenly trained on him. It had been a nail biting twenty minutes as Shinji’s slow methodical pace finally brought him back into range of the site radio.   
Kaworu had practically jumped up to shout the warning through the airwaves. Unfortunately, a split second later the entire site shook and the radio went out as Zeruel unleashed his first attack. The whole room held its breath as the lights slowly came back on and the dust falling from the roof settled onto the surfaces below. The screens flickered as the system rerouted the connections to new cameras. Kaworu let out a sigh of relief when the picture returned. Unit 01 was smoldering, but still standing. Where a grassy hill had once stood was now a blasted crater. Zereul silently touched down on the smoking soil. Then, slowly, the fourteenth angel unfurled two, wide, silvery sheets from underneath its shoulders. Kaworu’s eyes went wide as they suddenly shot out towards Unit 01. Shinji reacted almost immediately, ducking just as the lethal blade sailed over his head. Seeing its target had dodged, the angel twisted its limbs in the air, throwing another downwards slash at Unit 01 crouched form. 

Kaworu winced as the metallic arm found its mark with a spray of blood. 

…….

Shinji screamed as a white hot burst of pain lanced across his ribs. The razor edge of Zeruel’s arm had barely grazed Unit 01 and it had still sliced through several plates of armor and put a deep gash into the flesh beneath. Shinji heaved a breath as he felt his own S2 engine spin up, generating new tissue to close the wound. The pilot quickly stood and faced his opponent again. Even without taking its massive strength into account, Zeruel’s broad, monolithic body was already intimidating. The angel’s whips lashed out again. There was a burst of orange light and a clang. Shinji’s AT field folded outwards to intercept the deadly weapons. The rest of the whip crumpled as it slammed, full force into the octagonal barrier. A second later, the angel pulled them back just as fast. Seeing his opportunity, Shinji launched into a sprint. Closing the distance had worked against Zeruel last time, and with no battery limit, Shinji felt a boost of confidence as his barrier slammed into the angels' own. From beneath the clashing cotogons, Zereuel’s deep eye sockets flashed. The third child winced as a plasma inferno exploded against his hand. Another burst of pain shot through his left arm as the angel’s right limb cleaved off a large piece of flesh. Unit 01 stumbled backwards off of its prey as Zeruel intensified its assault. There was another ocular blast before two more slashes with his whips came in from below. Shinji screamed again as more pieces of armor and flesh fell onto the charred soil beneath him. Desperately reaching for his knife, he brought the blade out of his shoulder pylon and thrusted it towards the angel’s face. The progressive steel flew through the hole in the AT field before glancing harmlessly off the diamond-hard faceplate. Zreuel responded by wrapping its flattened weapons around Unit 01’s waist. Shinji’s heart leaped into his throat. With a flash of the knife, he brought the blade low, severing the angel’s limbs before the angel could disembowel his Eva. There was a slight moment of weightlessness before he felt the Evangelion crash into the ground with a thud. Shinji groaned before rolling to the left to avoid another scorching cruciform explosion, tucking into a roll as the shockwave hit him, using the energy of the angel’s own attack to throw Unit 01 back onto its feet. Shinji’s blood pumped loudly in his ears as he went in for another attack. Despite the exertion of having already fought a battle, Shinji felt strangely energized charging towards the angel. It may have just been his imagination, but the S2 engine seemed to be working in overdrive. The massive wounds he received earlier were already starting to close, with Zeruel’s severed arms quickly being integrated as structural mass into the new tissue. Each of his punches also seemed to land harder and faster than he was used to; on top of that, his entire body was hot, like it was on fire. Shinji dodge another closed range blast before hooking his fingers into the hollow sockets of Zeruel’s face. Pulling the entire visage up like a massive bowling ball, Shinji brought his knife across the exposed muscle column below. A wet tearing sound filled the air and a shower of crimson sprayed from the angel’s “neck”. There was a massive impact on Unit 01’s abdomen as the angel lashed out its whips in response. The third child felt the razor edge bite into his flesh, before the angel’s arm tossed him backwards with its momentum. Shinji landed hard on the ground. The broken flash across the Evangelion’s torso was already quickly healing. Lifting the head, his eyes focused on Zeruel. The angel of strength was already back on its feet, except now it’s faceplate was distended, hanging down its front by a column of torn and bloody muscle. Then, as Shinji watched in shock, the soft tissue quickly grew back, the massive gash he made sealing close and the newly healed muscle pulling the mask back into place. A second later, it was as good as new. It was then that Shinji noticed that the rain was steaming off of both their bodies. 

…….

“Core temperature of both SCP 6079 and the angel have passed two hundred Celsius!” Shouted a figure from across the room. Director Tallerin frowned just as another blast shook the site’s very foundations. 

“Power generation is surpassing any previous angel encounter!” 

“What does that mean?” Tallerin shouted back. 

“I….I’m not sure!” The technician replied.

“It means that unless one of them wins quickly, everyone on this side of the continent is dead.” Kaworu said barely above a whisper. 

Tallerin’s head spun around to lock onto his face. The elderly woman’s face was a mask of indignant anger and shock. 

“What do you mean by that?!” She angrily cried at him. 

Kaworu put his hand over his chin. “SCP 6079, Unit 01, acquired its S2 engine from the fourteenth angel originally. There are essentially two copies of the same S2 engine in close proximity.”

“So….?” Tallerin snapped.

“Normally this wouldn’t be a problem.” Kaworu said. “But in this case, both of them are operating at high capacity and the engines are starting to go into resonance.” Researcher Heian drew in a sharp breath as her eyes went wide.

“With the S2 engines as an infinite energy source, there’s no limit on the amount of power that the cores could be driven to produce.” Kaworu continued. “Eventually, the physical structure of the engines will fail, and they will both overload.” 

Heian gulped. “What would that mean?” she quietly asked.

Kaworu looked into Director Tallerin’s eyes. “It would mean the destruction of everything from here to the coast, a crater seven hundred kilometers in radius.”

“Core temperatures have reached three hundred Celsius!” The announcement came from the screens. “I am reading increased Hume levels around both S2 engines!” 

The site director slammed her fist on the table and gritted her teeth. Stalking over to one of the comms stations, she picked up a phone handset. 

“I want all available weapons directed towards the angel, concentrate fire around its core!” she barked before slamming the phone down again. Locking her gaze back to Kaworu, her eyes burned.

“That pilot needs a weapon of some kind! What do we have that can actually hurt that monster?”

“What about Tau 5?” Heian suggested. Kaworu shook his head.

“Samsara’s own S2 engines were modeled after Unit 01’s, they would just be adding more fuel to the fire.” Tallerin slammed her fist onto the desk. 

“Then….I will need to have a difficult conversation with the Council, Pandora class weaponry is our only option.”

Tallerin began to move towards the door.

“Wait.” Kaworu said. “There….there is one last option, the spear.” Slowly, Tallerin turned around. 

“The weapon that defeated the first angel…” She trailed off. Kaworu nodded 

“The O5 have it locked away as part of their own designs. It is the only weapon capable of neutralizing the angel without massive collateral damage to us or to SCP 6079.” 

Tallerin opened her mouth, before closing it. A long silence hung in the air. 

“Very well,” she finally said. “I will request it from the Council.” With that, she quickly stepped out of the bustling war room, towards her office. 

Heian turned to Kaworu as the door swung close again.

“How long do we have until they go critical?” She whispered tensely. 

“I’m not sure,” Kaworu replied anxiously. “But at some point the molecular integrity of the core is going to fail, and the S2 engine will experience a runaway burn, there will no longer be any way of containing the energy.” Heian paled at the explanation.

“But...the magnitude of the fall out was an exaggeration, right?” She said. Kaworu solemnly shook his head.

“The last time an S2 engine overloaded, Antarctica was completely vaporized.” Heian’s jaw slowly opened, before she quickly closed it and sat down. Kaworu bit his lip as he too realized the magnitude of what he had just said. On the screens, the battle raged on.

…….

Shinji landed a solid punch into Zeruel’s core right before slamming his blade into the angel’s flesh. The angel of strength staggered, its stubby legs shuffling backwards to rebalance its bulk before counter attacking. Shinji extended his AT field, the barrier catching the deadly implements and crumpling them. Zeruel shifted its body, faster than a creature of its weight should have been able, and struck again. The pilot’s cried out in surprise as one of the lethal bands slipped under his focused barrier, slicing through the thinner AT field and ripping off a huge piece of armor. The pilot bit back a scream and launched a right hook, catching Zeruel in the side of its “head”, slamming the upper body of the creature into the dirt with a colossal impact. Shinji pulled in a deep breath of the ionized LCL and instantly felt his strength return. There was no doubt now, something was strange about his S2 engine. He looked down, trying to assess the damage from Zeruel’s attack, and saw that part of Unit 01’s core had been exposed. The red orb was absolutely luminous, glowing like a pool of molten iron. The organ was cloaked by a curtain of steam, as its heat vaporized the rain falling onto it. He looked back at Zeruel. The angel’s core was also red hot and hissing as it stood back up, the blanket of water vapor was like smoke, signaling a fire within. With a cry, the third child made a lunge at his opponent’s legs. He felt the arms of Unit 01 close around Zeruel’s scalding flesh, before lifting the enormous weight and throwing the angel over his shoulder. Zeruel fired an eye beam as it tumbled through the air. The ground beneath Shinji vanished as several massive cruciform explosions vaporized the soil beneath him. There was a flash of pain that was quickly dulled by the overactive S2 engine. The pilot projected the barrier beneath the Eva's boots and rode the blast wave out of the huge crater. He slammed down on the untouched soil with a loud hiss. Mud splashed up from the soil and instantly boiled away on the armor. In the distance, Zeruel had regained control, and silently set itself down on its feet. They were fighting well beyond their usual capabilities, Shinji was sure of it. He wanted to call out, to ask Kaworu about his situation, but the radio projected nothing but static. He was not quite to the level of a berserker yet, but Shinji could feel the power coursing through every square inch of the Evangelion’s body. Zeruel’s eye beams had also become larger and more deadly with each passing minute. The gigantic cruciform explosions now tore holes in the clouds above. Its melee attacks also seemed to have sped up, with the movements of its deadly limbs reaching supersonic velocities. Shinji’s hand shot out and grabbed Zeruel's left arm as the angel went in for another strike. The blade crumpled like foil, and Shinji pulled. Zeruel was yanked from its footing, right towards Shinji’s waiting balde. There was a flash from the angel’s other appendage and half of the hand, quickly followed by the progressive knife, fell into the mud. Thinking fast, the pilot lifted his other limb, still grabbing the angel’s crumpled arm, and bashed Zeruel across the face with it. He needed to get the angel down so that he could attack its core. However every time he had brought the knife anywhere close to that glowing red organ, the angel had closed a bony shield over it. Leaping onto the monstrous form, he grabbed his blade out of the grass and plunged it into the area around the core. Maybe he could cut it out. Instantly, the angel responded. A volley of powerful strikes from its regenerated arm sent Shinji reeling, his knife forgotten in the flesh of his opponent. Then a massive blast toppled the Unit completely, sending him sprawling into the now boiling mud. The pilot felt bile rising in his throat as he got back up. Nausea from fear. The two of them were too evenly matched, even worse it seemed that each of them only got stronger and more powerful as their battle dragged on. Eventually he would be boiled alive by the power of his own S2 engine. Shinji pushed himself up and scrambled behind a nearby crater as another explosion shook the landscape. 

…….

Kaworu’s expression darkened as he continued to watch the scene unfold. The core temperature of both combatants had already surpassed 1000 celsius. Shinji was being kept alive through the equally supercharged LCL cooling systems. But, the armor plating around the core was in danger of melting straight off. Despite this, neither opponent showed any sign of losing. Any wounds that were opened were closed just as fast, and both of them seemed to have an everlasting pool of stamina. The screens went to static again as another angelic eye blast knocked out another camera array. It had only been a few minutes since Tallerin left the room, but at this rate, overload was imminent. Even if the Overseers gave their approval after a lengthy, time consuming debate, transporting the spear would take about half an hour even on the fastest helicopter. If he was going to help Shinji, he had to act now. Kaworu stood up and jogged to the door. Heian saw him and stood up as well, chasing after the seventeenth angel 

“Where are you going!” She shouted as they dashed through the empty corridors. 

“There’s no time left.” Kaworu said. “I have to get the spear myself!” The pair burst into a stairwell and began to climb. 

“The. Council. Hasn’t given. Approval. Yet!” Heian huffed as she pulled herself after the rapidly ascending angel. 

“I know.” Kaworu answered flatly from several flights up. A few moments later, he burst through another door right next to one of the exit points. He looked back down the stairs and held the door open until Heian made it through. The Junior researcher doubled over, taking in huge breaths of air as she braced her arms on her knees. The doctor slowly walked over to the armored, external door and swiped his ID card through it. There was a beep and the heavy metal plate swung open into the howling wind. Heian stood back up and turned to him.   
“I know I came to you today with classified material, but what you’re doing….that’s actual treason.” Kaworu tilted his head up into the wind. After a second he took the wide brimmed hat off his head and threw it into the air. The gale instantly caught the fabric and whisked it up. The angel stood as the head wear disappeared into the churning tempest above. 

“Undoubtedly,” he answered, before letting his head drop. “It seems the Karcist was right after all, I cannot change my nature.” He paused for a moment. “I am the betrayer, I have always been the betrayer. In every world I have seen and been to, I turn on those who trust me. I turn on those who command me, I turn on those who are similar to me, I turn on my siblings….and I turn on those who love me.” Silently Kaworu removed his ID card. A large orange “4” stared back at him from the thin piece of plastic. There was the flash of an AT field and the angel dropped the crumpled ID. 

“Everytime before, I have escaped the consequences of my betrayal through death, or rebirth, or instrumentality. But this time I will have to live with the results of my choices.” Kaworu stepped out into the rain. A dim orange light expanded under his feet and he rose into the air. 

“Goodbye Researcher Heian, it was a pleasure working with you, I do not think you will be seeing me again.” Heian blinked several times and weakly mouthed a “goodbye.” Then the angel turned away and rocketed off into the distance. Heian stood unmoving as the sonic boom dissipated. After a few seconds she was left staring at nothing but the rain. 

…….

Site director Tallerin sat in front of the small monitor tapping her fingers. The council had flatly rebuffed her requests for access to the spear. She had tried to explain the criticality of the situation. Clef’s own predictions of core overload had been confirmed by her own team. On top of that, the council had authorized its use against another angel before. Still, the Overseers refused to budge. They had instead begun debating on which doomsday weapon Tallerin would accept being used on her front lawn. All of the options so far would almost certainly guarantee the destruction of Site 47 along with the enemy. She had suggested repeating the well tested strategy of reality anchors and kinetic strikes, but the possibility of getting enough Scranton reality anchors into the midst of such a battle was unlikely. It seemed that she would need to accept whatever was the least destructive device the council threw at her. 

Suddenly, the icons of all Council members in attendance flashed red. Tallerin sat up a look of concern spreading across her face. 

“What’s happe-” She began. 

“LARGE HUME ANOMALY APPROACHING SITE 2000 AT SUPERSONIC VELOCITIES.” An automated response alerted.

“What?!” O5-6 bellowed. “That must be a malfunction!”   
“Profile matches that of an angel!” O5-3 reported. There was a pause. “The seventeenth angel!” 

“Where is Doctor Clef?” O5-1’s question cut through the air at Tallerin. “Did you authorize their leave?” 

“What?!” the site director cried. “Councillor, with all due respect, I do not understand what Dr. Clef has to do with the seventeenth angel!”

O5-6 let out a sigh of anger. “We do not have time to explain this to the site director, and frankly I do not believe she has the clearance to know this anyways!” 

“Noted.” O5-1 responded. “Director, I am sorry to inform you that Doctor Alto Clef has fallen in the line of duty against the Seventeenth angel.” Tallerin’s face contorted into a deep scowl.

“What?!” She yelled. “How could you know that!” 

“Director, I would advise you to watch your tone.” O5-3 warned. The director clenched her fists under the table and closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. 

“Apologies councillors, but I am not sure how you could have come to that conclusion.” She reasoned.

“That is classified beyond you.” O5-6 explained. “Furthermore, as of this moment Tau 5 is rerouted to intercept the seventeenth angel.”

“But Samsara are still stationed here, at Site 47!” Tallerin protested. 

“That is of little importance,” O5-6 said. “Begin soul transference to the Site 2000 units now.” Tallerin leaned back in her seat mouth agape. It seemed like the world was ending in more ways than one. 

“Director, as of this moment you are to begin preparations for the general K class contingency.” O5-1 calmly commanded. A document appeared in front of the conference. Tallerin sat up and squinted at the text. Several pages of technical procedures scrolled past as she breezed to the admin section. She drew in a sharp breath as her eyes passed the words “termination of anomalies.” She clicked away, her eyes glaring back at the council’s static logos.

“You’re ordering a slaughter of-” She cried.

“Termination of.” O5-3 corrected. “And not of all anomalies, the ethics committee would never approve of that, only the ones that have posed a danger to containment before.” Sweat beaded up on the site director’s forehead. As cold hearted as the O5 council had been before, this was callousness on another level entirely. If they failed, the entire site would be wiped away anyways. There was no need for this level of brutality. 

“I...I cannot carry out these orders.” Tallerin announced. “I am requesting an ethics committee appeal.” 

“You cannot.” O5-6 snarled. “The entire procedure has already been approved by the ethics committee.” 

“But I am appealing the decision to enact these procedures now, especially when I have not been informed of the specific danger that exists.” The site director rebutted.

“The council is empowered to make emergency decisions, free of the ethics committee in K class scenarios.” O5-3 added.

“Is there currently an K class scenario in progress? And if so, what is its nature?” Tallerin countered.

O5-6 began to speak but abruptly stopped herself. Silence settled over the room as the council took stock of the situation. Tallerin’s heart was deafening in her ears. She knew that in all likelihood, the council was monitoring her vitals as they spoke. Finally, the buzz of O5-1’s synthetic voice broke the quiet.

“Very well.” She said flatly. “The order will be temporarily suspended until an appeal has been filed and an ethics committee decision has been reached,” Tallerin mentally sighed, but maintained her stoic facade. “However,” O5-1 continued. “You will also be temporarily relieved of command until the completion of the appeal proceedings, all current combat operations are immediately transferred to council control.” 

“As you are no longer in command, the decision of what action to take against both the fourteenth and the seventeenth angels are matters only for this council to decide. Thus I believe this meeting with the former director is over.” O5-3 observed.

“Agreed.” O5-6 growled. With that the screen shut off. Tallerin shivered as she bent over and dry heaved. Her nerves had almost been entirely shredded. Sitting back up, she took in a shaky breath and was thankful that it was only her position that had been taken from her. The council was certainly capable of much worse. Her mind went over the content of what was just said. Was it true? Was Clef really dead? Last she had seen, they were safely in the war room. She could pull up the location tracker on their ID card, but with her site director position revoked, she was likely no longer able to access that information anymore. Carefully she thought it over. It was likely that Clef’s “death” was a cover for something that involved them and the seventeenth angel. Did they somehow trigger its appearance in the few minutes she had been away? Tallerin stood up and pushed in the chair. If Clef was still alive, and had been involved with the angel, she wondered what kind of nightmare they were currently in. 

…….

Kaworu flew across the hills and valleys as he closed in on site 2000. There was no doubt in his mind that the council would have already noticed his treachery and raised the defenses, he could only hope to be fast enough to make it through. He had reached the outer edge of the storm a few minutes ago, and as he propelled himself along with his AT field, the blue sky peaked out from behind the last remaining tufts of grey clouds. Kaworu managed a weak smile as he shot past another hill. Ironic, his future was anything but sunny. Far ahead, the familiar scenery of Site 2000’s outer defense grid came into view. Any second now, he would cross the threshold for attack. Kaworu narrowed his eyes and focused his AT field forwards, just as the first volley launched. A loud whooshing sound filled the air as the angel swung low. Massive dark cylinders darted past, detonating in blinding balls of fire behind him. The next volley struck home, impacting against the impenetrable barrier in similar explosions. Kaworu paid the attacks no heed as he continued forwards. Bursts of autocannon fire joined the rockets; tungsten sabots ricocheted from the orange shield. 

Trailed by a magenta inferno, Kaworu burst out of the narrow valley into the open caldera. Every weapon array was active. As far as he could see, the ground had been flipped inside out and replaced with an endless sea of weapon batteries. Several bright laser targeters instantly locked onto him, their intense light scattering off of his barrier. Kaworu breathed in and let himself fall, not all at once, but letting gravity guide his descent as everything around him exploded. The shrapnel, fireballs, and shockwaves became a literal deluge as new missiles shot up from below, curved at the top of their arc, and slammed back down on him. The tell tale sound of high velocity railgun ammunition joined the symphony as their turrets finally locked onto his position as well. Kaworu narrowed his eyes and looked down. The conventional weapon of the foundation had no chance of even denting his barrier, but the massively armored facility presented a different challenge. There were all sorts of esoteric defenses covering the path to Lilith, many of which would give even Zeruel a lot of trouble to break through. Kaworu drew in a breath. There was one thing he could try. He shifted his course horizontally, positioning himself over one of the largest diameter launchers. The entire grid was automated, in an event just like this one, all personnel would have been evacuated to bunkers on the same level as Lilith was, this meant that it was a mechanical system that loaded the ordnance and armed the fuses. Deep below, in the closest shaft, another massive projectile was moved into view. Logically, the heavier the ordnance, the deeper it would be stored to prevent a detonation by enemy attack. Unfortunately that design feature would now work against them. The shield flashed, absorbing the colossal airblast from the latest missile. The volley of smaller explosions continued unabated. Kaworu stopped himself just above the opening. Any lower, and they would probably have sealed the opening to deny him entry into it, however, that was not Kaworu’s plan either way. The angel closed his eyes and expanded the outer layers of his AT field downwards. He pushed the envelope of his energy past the entrance to the weapon, deep through its intricate transportation system, far below the surface. Kaworu’s eye twitched as he continued the exertion, he had never stretched the energy of the AT field so far before. 

There! A wisp of energy came out of the tunnels into the magazine. Thousands of massive rockets were stacked in a pit several hundred meters deep. There was only one thing he needed to do. Kaworu intensified his AT field inside the body of the nearest missile, and shorted the fuse. The seventeenth angel felt a deep rumble from below as he quickly withdrew his barrier from the weapon unit and concentrated the energy into a shield below him. A split second later, the entire nacelle was ripped apart as a gargantuan mountain of light and plasma erupted from the ground below. A chain reaction tore through the subterranean defense grid, spewing flames and debris from every access port and weapon outlet. Gigantic turrets were blasted from their moorings, massive launch cells were crumpled by geysers of billowing smoke, and the entire earth beneath him heaved and gave way, blasting outwards in a colossal shockwave of dirt, stone and wreckage. The barrage of attacks died away as the last gun emplacement was finally tossed clear of its ammunition feeder by one last explosion. Peering through the smoke, Kaworu could see several hundred meters of bent and twisted metal. Any special fortifications had been neutralized from the inside out. At the bottom of the huge crater was a hole, a dark jagged aperture leading into the bowels of the site. Without wasting another second, the angel quickly lowered himself past the smoldering destruction and into the prison of Lilith.

Passing through the torn metal, Kaworu found himself inside of a dimly lit corridor. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as he surveyed the scenery. The architecture of Site 2000 was completely different from any other Foundation site he had been to. The hallways were narrow, with walls and ceiling plated with some type of dark, non reflective ceramic. The plates stopped about half a meter from the floor, the remaining height was covered by a steel mesh letting an eerie red light shine onto the ground. Kaworu stood still, trying to sense any incoming security forces. The only sounds that reached him were the crackle of several large fires still raging above him. Satisfied that he was alone, Kaworu turned his senses toward something else. Lilith’s influence had been ringing in his ears ever since he had entered the valley, and now that he was that much closer, her call was starting to interrupt his thoughts. He concentrated, trying to pick out the direction that it was coming from. A shrill pulsing answered him. Far below...below and to his left. The angel’s eyes snapped open and he turned left before sprinting down the gloomy hallway

He dashed through countless corridors and down a myriad of stairs bathed in crimson light. The layout of Site 2000 was even more labyrinthine than the sprawling complex of Site 47. Where the containment complex was large, there were signs and landmarks to guide you, if you knew what you were looking for. Site 2000 had none of those. Built like one giant machine, the pathways below the defense grids were rarely used by human feet. Automated systems and drones usually navigated their way through the tunnels to perform repairs and upkeep of the site. From occasional glances at documents, Kaworu knew that there were several laboratories on the deepest levels directly above Lilith, but their entrances merged seamlessly with the wall paneling as well. He only had Lilith’s instinctive pull to guide him towards his destination. The surroundings became a blur as Kaworu pushed himself faster and faster. Doors that didn’t open in time were smashed down by an orange octagon, elevator shafts were pried apart, and every so often, a hole would be blasted into the floor. He didn't have much time left, the S2 engines were probably reaching their limit. He needed to get the spear and get back, even flying at supersonic speeds, it would be close. 

Dropping down one last elevator shaft and crumpling the door away, Kaworu stepped into a long corridor lined with glass. Light filtered through the liquid held in the massive tanks; the characteristic orange of LCL bounced off the floor, illuminating the angel’s face. He had made it. The bottom of the laboratory level, the source of the new biomass that was meant to repopulate the entire planet. Bodies with pale skin and blue hair of all sizes floated silently through the liquid, some of them twitched in their dreamless slumber. Breaking into sprint again, Kaworu dashed past the thousands of incubating forms and into the center of the sub level. A large circular chamber opened up, as the walls of the tank curved away. A single high speed glass elevator shaft stood in the center. Kaworu ignored it and bent down halfway to the center of the enormous circular space and put his hand on the ground. There was a faint pulse of light, and the ground directly below the angel cracked open. For a split second, Kaworu hovered in place as three meters of metal shards collapsed beneath him. Then the angel released his AT field, and disappeared into the void below. 

The chamber was gargantuan, far larger than anything else the Foundation had ever built. Deeper than any oceanic trench, It was almost as wide as the entire geofront and extended deep past the magma chamber of the super volcano that Site 2000 was built on top of. As Kaworu fell, he focused his AT field behind him, accelerating him past terminal velocity. From the gloom below a vast, pale shape rushed up to meet him. His eyes went wide with awe as Lilith’s skull finally came into view. 

The remains were a mountain. There was simply nothing else of a comparable size. Split in half down the middle and resting on its chin and cheekbone, the edge where the natural curve of the bone met the sharp break in the middle of the skull formed a gruesome ridgeline at the summit. During the third impact, Lilith’s head had mushroomed to the size of a small planetoid, but it had, thankfully, shrunk in the thousands of years that it had spent on this world. Still, Kaworu could only imagine what kind of operation it had been to not only expand Site 2000 to accommodate the skull, but literally move a mountain sized piece of bone without arousing suspicion. Each secret unearthed was just further proof of the eldritch powers that the overseers had at their beck and call. The angel rocketed down through the dark like a shooting star, the smooth bone of the upper skull gave way to the gargantuan opening of the nasal cavity. From the back of the ossified cavern, a river of bright orange LCL trickled out and down the ivory cliff. Kaworu’s gaze followed the flow of Lilith’s blood, that one rivulet joining other flows that cascaded down the fleshless face like dozens of waterfalls. Kaworu had descended well past the upper teeth before the lighting below was strong enough to illuminate the foundation of the chamber. A small silver dot appeared in the sea of looming orange. The angel squinted and nudged his course towards the growing platform at the base of the massive chin. The orange river ran down the gap between two teeth before becoming one final, colossal waterfall that disappeared into the darkness behind the lower jaw. Kaworu shifted his AT field as he fell past the lower teeth, slowing his descent. He came to a smooth stop just as he touched down onto the polished metal of the island. He paused. There was no sign of any pursuers. The only sound was the distant churning of the river of LCL finally entering the sea around him. Kaworu floated himself off the floor again and quickly approached the base of the chin. Embedded deep inside the pale bone was a single shaft of blood red metal. Slowly, the final messenger closed in on the spear. Lilith’s song was deafening now, It was a supernova of sound and sensation, urging him to come closer, to make contact and fall into the combined form again. Rei was already in there….the body of Adam was already in there…. He could just reach out…

Kaworu clenched his hand into a fist as it involuntarily extended. With the spear still embedded, the actual risk of him causing an impact, even if he did make contact, was low. After all, tissue from the embryonic body of Adam was already inside the skull before him, adding his own body wouldn’t really change anything. However, after he removed the spear, it was another matter entirely. The volume of the song would probably magnify by tenfold, and the regeneration of Lilith would begin. If he made contact after that, he would be speeding up the process of Lilith growing back to full size. He needed to make a hasty retreat right after he-

“TABRIS!” A loud voice projected from behind him. Kaworu turned to see the four armored figures of Tau-5 Samsara aiming their massive auto cannons at his head. “STEP AWAY FROM THE SPEAR!” Kaworu turned and raised his hands in a gesture of truce.

“I am not here to initiate an impact!” He called back. “I need the spear to prevent the thirteenth from annihilating half a continent.” 

“The council is handling that.” Irantu replied. “Give yourself up, and you will not be harmed.” Kaworu turned his head and glanced at the spear out of the corner of his eye.

“Please.” He said. “Just this once? For the sake of what we have accomplished together.” 

Irantu paused for a moment, Kaworu saw the exoskeleton shift ever so slightly as the wearer’s muscles tensed. The barrel of her autocannon dipped. 

“No.” The reply cut through the still air as the aim of the weapon snapped back to his head. “For your crimes of treason against the O5 council, incalculable damage to Foundation assets, and compromising containment of a Thaumiel class anomaly, you are no longer part of this Foundation.” Her voice was flat, cold, without a hint of anger or passion, like a judge delivering a death sentence. Kaworu closed his eyes.

“I see.” He said, hanging his head low. Suddenly, his left arm shot out behind him. The spear of Longinus, the lance of the white moon quivered as it recognized the presence of its original and true master: The soul of Adam. In a nanosecond, the myriad of tendrils pulled themselves from the bone of Lilith, and the haft leaped into Kaworu’s grasp. The final messenger felt a jolt of energy pass through his body as the spear unwound, unfurling its two lethal tines. The weapon that had once belonged to Adam, had returned to his final child.


	20. Strength Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As time runs out for Shinji in his battle with Zeruel, Kaworu must contend with the fury of the Overseers and escape their greatest fortress.

The silence shattered as Tau 5 opened up with a volley of automatic fire. Kaworu frowned and concentrated his AT field in front of him. The anti-AT ammunition may have been effective against his siblings, but against the most powerful At barrier in existence, the fletchetts buried themselves a millimeter into the outer layer of his shield before stopping dead in mid air. 

Kaworu ducked, dodging low out of the way of Samsara’s next volley of shots. There was no way that he was going to make it back to Shinji in time with four cybernetic super soldiers on his tail, he would need to stop them here and now. Turning around, Kaworu rocketed himself towards the metal platform. The angel made a wide sweep with the lance as he came in, The members of Samsara scattered, rolling outwards to evade the wide, arcing attack. It was Irantu who recovered first, unleashing another burst of auto cannon fire as she brought her weapon back up. The darts jolted to a stop midair as they dug into Kaworu’s AT field, before dropping to the ground. Stashing her cannon, Irantu went for her melee weapon and charged.

A progressive sword was not going to do much more than the projectiles and Kaworu was just about to ignore the attack when he caught a glimpse of the shape of the incoming weapon. It was not a blade. For a moment, he couldn’t quite see its dark outline against the equally dark background. Then there was the flash of two long prongs and a helical shaft. Kaworu hastily countered, bringing his real spear to deflect the false one. The gray lance shook as it hit the octagonal barrier, before raggedly tearing through his AT field and colliding with it’s genuine counterpart in a shower of sparks. The angel twisted, locking the tines against each other, and heaved. Irantu was thrown back by the force, reeling as she regained her footing. Kaworu’s mind raced. Of course the council would have had something like this up their sleeves. If SEELE were able to manufacture such replicas, then the Foundation would no doubt have been able to do the same. He quickly seized up the weapon as the Samsara squad leader approached for another attack. The copies were imperfect, going by the brief attack, Irantu’s lance had run into considerable resistance against Kaworu’s own AT field, something the real spear would have cut through in a second. 

Irantu quickly closed and made another thrust directly at Kaworu’s chest. The angel strengthened his barrier as the lance passed through the space in front of him. Instantly the spear slowed, as it fought against the increased resistance of the shield. Kaworu brought his own weapon up quickly, easily parrying the strike. The next attack came from behind. Munru’s spear was a single pointed javelin, which she viscously drove at Kaworu’s center mass. The angel weaved, the strength of his AT field affording him crucial seconds to dodge, as the false spear was caught in the shield. Kaworu spun on the balls of his feet, bringing the two prongs of the real lance down in a wide arc. Munru tried to dodge, but the red tines cut through her weaker barrier without any slowing. Sparks flew as the super soldier was knocked back, bearing two dark gashes down the front of her armor. Onru and Nanku quickly joined their comrades charging towards Kaworu from opposite directions. The two made a simultaneous strike at the angel. Kaworu hastily leaped out of the way and brought his weapon around. Several loud bangs caused him to duck as Irantu fired a volley of flechette through the hole in the AT field. Nanku pulled back and swung the helical spear high above her head, the wide leaf-like blade of her gray lance cleaving another wide gash in Kaworu’s AT field. The angel sprung back, narrowly avoiding the razor edge as it slammed against the ground with a clang. He swiftly pulled the real lance back, heaving it in a wide arc to ward off Onru. 

Irantu let off another burst of cannon fire as Kaworu ducked out of the way. Bringing the spear low, he made a sharp thrust at Nanku. The tines ripped through the lesser AT field, effortlessly slicing through the outer armor layer on her leg. The super soldier staggered as the mechanical components in her exoskeleton spasmed. There was an electric tearing sound and Kaworu spun around just in time to see Munru’s weapon breakthrough his AT field. He started to dodge, but the supersoldier was faster, tearing a long gash on the angel’s arm. Kaworu pushed down the pain and stabbed in a counter attack, his weapon slamming into the center of Munru’s chestplate. There was the sound of crumpling metal and tearing flesh as she stumbled back, falling onto a knee. Kaworu spun to confront his remaining adversaries. Irantu was on him in a flash, her spear glinted as it plunged through his AT field. A simultaneous strike came from his left. Kaworu weaved, dodging the kill strike of the Samsara leader, but Nanku’s sweeping blow caught him in the leg. Pain exploded as the angel momentarily lost his balance. Seeing an opportunity Onru charged in to finish him off. Time seemed to slow as Kaworu fell backwards. His head turned to look at his would-be-executioner. Onru’s lance was a gray blur, the deadly point hurtling towards his face was a single bright glare, she would not miss. Kaworu’s eyes darted towards her feet. The cyborg was in a full sprint, and her stride had lifted her off the ground. His mind began to race as an orange glimmer formed under her stride. 

Onru let loose a battle cry as her victim hit the metal floor on his back. Her spear darted, perfectly aimed between his eyes. Her feet lifted off the ground to carry her one more step to the execution. She never landed. In the blink of an eye, an AT field uncoiled beneath her, hurling the figure high into the gloomy cavern above . The angel sprung himself up and assessed the situation. There was another weakness of the false lances, they had not incapacitated his angelic abilities even after wounding him. He surmised that In all likelihood they possessed no other capabilities besides penetrating AT fields. While this flaw would render them little more than a nuisance against a larger angel, against Kaworu’s human body, they were still undeniably deadly. 

Irantu and Nanku converged on him with another set of strikes. The angel doged past Irantu’s strike and locked tines with Nanku, before quickly whipping his body around. The cyborg strained against the force, but was overpowered by an AT field assisted throw. Nanku slid to the edge of the platform as her spear was launched far into the LCL. Following through on the arc, Kaworu clashed the haft of the spear with Irantu’s weapon. The squad leader caught the single point and twisted. Kaworu didn't resist, releasing his grip and letting the strength of the cyborg throw his spear into a spin. Kaworu caught the weapon again just as it finished a one hundred eighty degree turn and thrust with the front. Irantu countered, stabbing forward and jamming both weapons into the metal floor. Sparks exploded as the squad leader gave a heavy push, sending the angel and his spear screeching across the platform. Behind him Munru slowly pulled herself up. The wound in her chest sealed as she picked her weapon and charged at Kaworu’s exposed back. The angel skidded to a stop just as the clanking sound of boots reached his ears. Kaworu coiled his barrier close inside and crouched. With a burst of fury, he launched his body into a spin and pushed the spear out from his center of mass. The world instantly became a supersonic blur. There was a brief flash of dark blue followed by a powerful jolt on his weapon and the cacophony of shearing metal. Munru collapsed in a heap as Kaworu landed; a severed leg covered in blue armor spun across the platform painting a scarlet trail behind it. The angel lifted his head to look at his final remaining opponent. 

“Let me use the spear to stop the thirteenth!” He called. “Then I will answer to the Overseers.” 

“Every moment that spear is away from the anomaly, we get another second closer to disaster.” Irantu replied. “I cannot allow you to leave here with it.” Then she charged. Kaworu went low as Nanku stood up at the edge of the platform and fired another volley at him. The shots rang out against his AT field as the distance between the two melee fighters drew closer. Five meters away, Irantu leaped, shooting up in the air with her lance raised overhead. Kaworu ducked and swung the real spear to block. A colossal bang rang out as the weapons clashed in mid air. Kaworu’s spear was driven back, the haft slamming into the metal floor with a shower of sparks. The super soldier pulled her lance back, spinning it around at superhuman speeds she drove the weapon in a side thrust. The angel bowed his back forwards and leaned on his spear, freeing it from the groove in the floor. He instantly countered, making a wild jab at Irantu’s spear and pinning it under his own. Then with a shunt from his trailing arm, he smashed the rear end of the weapon into the cyborg’s helmet. A thick crack rang out as layers of kinetic foam snapped and the glass of the face shield splintered. The squad leader stumbled a few steps before turning her head back. A shard of broken glass fell away revealing the glare of a crimson eye. A low growl echoed out from the shattered screen as Irantu launched into a flurry of blows. Kaworu frantically pulled his spear up, parrying the strikes as they came. Irantu’s weapon became a silver blur, striking against the true lance in a whirlwind of clashes. Kaworu winced as a heavy blow passed by his defense and dug into his shoulder. He thrusted to counter but stumbled as the two prongs of the squad leader’s lance locked around his shin. The exposed eye scowled and the cyborg heaved their weapon into the air. Kaworu was instantly thrown off the ground, the world becoming a blur as he tumbled head over heels through the gloom of the cavern. Then was a bang as a last second deployment of his AT field cushioned his fall. Kaworu moved to stand but staggered as the pain in his shoulder flared, and a hundred cuts wailed across his body. In the distance, Irantu stood up straighter.

“Surrender Tabris!” Her voice was an eerie combination of the external speaker, and her own real voice coming from the crack in her helmet. Kaworu shook his head. He needed to get to Shinji, even if it was the last thing he did. Irantu picked her spear up at the sign of his defiance, then without another word, rushed in for the kill. Kaworu stood, leaning on his own weapon even as his angelic physiology closed the wound in his shoulder. He needed to appear weak, vulnerable. Irantu leveled her lance as she thundered across the dented island surface. Kaworu analyzed her movements. The charge would be a feint, it was too predictable, even in his injured state, Irantu would not risk a direct assault when her comrades had all been incapacitated. Her left hand was forwards on the helical haft, and his own weapon was on his left side. Kaworu played the action out in his head as the spear his opponent grew ever closer. She would weave to his right at the last second, putting as much distance between herself and the true lance as she could, before cleaving downwards in a lethal arc. There would be one last stab into his body and then his form would crumple in a lifeless heap like in so many worlds before. 

But not this time. As Irantu entered striking range, her feet turned. The next step in her charge pivoted the armored giant away from the spear that Kaworu was still leaning on. Her own weapon came up, raised above her head. Kaworu closed his eyes, gripped the spare tightly, and leaned towards her. As he tipped over, he projected his AT field directly in the squad leader’s altered path. A loud bang shook the ground as Irantu collided with it. The air above his head whooshed with the sound of a missed swing. He had her right where he wanted her, in front of the falling spear. Using all of his remaining strength, Kaworu thrust his weapon at his opponent. The spear shot from his hands with an orange flash, ripping through Irantu’s AT field and armor, blasting clean through her body, and clattering down far away on the platform. Kaworu hit the metal floor just as the cyborg keeled over. The only sound in the cavern was once again the splashing of the LCL waterfall behind Lilith’s gigantic teeth.

“B-b,” A gurgling sound came from the mangled pile of armor that was Irantu.

“B-egin s-oul transf-fer to Site 47 units.” She coughed out. Kaworu’s eyes went wide as he pushed his agonizing body back onto its feet. He walked over to her form, limping as his leg wound bled. The cracked visor was now completely red, matching the single eye that stared out at him. 

“I will see you again.” The words were garbled, but a shiver went down his spine. Then a beep came from the helmet. Another from Munru’s crumpled body, another from Nanku standing on the edge of the platform, and another from Onru in the middle of the LCL ocean. The eye rolled back into the vacant skull and the exoskeleton went limp. Kaworu grimaced and walked over to the place where the true Lance of Longinus laid. The spear rattled as he approached before leaping into his open hand. Kaworu looked up at the titanous skull. Lilith’s song had thankfully been drowned out by the massive surge of adrenaline he was feeling; that was a part of Lilim biology he was thankful for, but now that the high of combat was over, the call began to grow loud again. He closed his eyes and rubbed his left temple. No, he had to resist … He still had a promise to Shinji he needed to fulfill, he would be by his side no matter what. Taking a deep breath and looking up into the gloomy cavern, Kaworu steeled his nerves before lifting off the ground and shooting into the darkness above. 

…….

The hills outside of Site 47 were in utter chaos. Junior researcher Heian looked over at the monitors. On the thermal cameras, the angel and its opponent had become a massive indistinct patch of white. Core temperatures of the two titans had reached over three thousand degrees celsius, and showed no signs of stopping. The other cameras were no better, with massive walls of steam obscuring the detailed outlines of the combatants. Periodically there would be a burst of flame as one of them approached a patch of vegetation. The room shook as another colossal explosion blasted out from the angels eyes. She checked her watch. I wasn’t looking too good for them. The overseers had already given the command for the orbital bombardment platforms to move into position. It wouldn’t be long before some reality erasing gun, or black hole bomb was dropped on top of their heads. She hoped that Clef would make it back in time with the spear. There was a sudden bustle by the front of the room and the researcher stood up. The comms operator scrambled up and put their head set on. 

“Interference is clearing!” she shouted. “ Radio channels are up!”

Heian ran towards the station. “I need to speak to SCP 6079!” She waved. The radio operator turned her head with a frown. 

“These channels need to be kept open for vital communication-” She began. 

“This IS vital.” Heian retorted as she scrambled up besides the large radio interface unit. 

Cocking an eyebrow, the operator took off her head set and slowly handed it to Heian. 

The junior researcher quickly donned the head set and flipped up the microphone.

“6079?! Are you there?” She desperately called. There was a heavy sloshing sound before the radio crackled to life.” 

“I- I’m here!” A child’s voice called out from the earphones.

“This is researcher Heian! What is your current status?” She asked. The sound of a muffled collision filled the speakers and there was a tense silence before the channel reopened. 

“It’s-it’s getting really hot in here! Is Clef there? I need to speak to him!”  
Heian swallowed. “Clef- uh, Clef isn’t here right now, they….they’re going to get the spear to help you.” 

There was a groan of pain from the other side of the line.

“T-Tell them to hurry!” The child finally responded. “I...I don’t think I can kill this angel, s-something’s really wrong.” There was another crash and slosh of liquid.

“Yeah, about that,” Heian stuttered. How did she tell them that their weapon was literally cooking them alive? “ The S2 engine in your unit seems to be identical to the one inside that angel.” She carefully repeated Clef’s words. “Thus, the two organs are entering a kind of resonance, a feedback loop where their output just keeps increasing.” 

“How do I stop it?!” A desperate question. Sweat rolled down her face. Heian hadn’t commanded one of these battles before. Despite the amount of training she had done with the child, she was never on the frontlines of an angel battle, directly communicating with the pilot in a life or death situation. She took a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and straightened her back. 

“The only way the loop will break is if one of the S2 engines are destroyed.” She said. 

“I can’t put a dent in it!” The child yelled back as the cacophony of the battlefield rang out again.  
“It’s regenerating too fast!” 

“You both are.” Heian added. “But the bigger danger is if the power gets too high, there will be a core overload.” 

“What does that mean?” 

Heian sighed. There was no more beating around the bush. “If the S2 engines overload.” She said slowly, trying to mirror Clef’s exact wording. “There will be a giant explosion that will probably destroy half the continent.” There was silence as she finished her explanation, the only sounds were that of combat raging in the background. 

“Just like second impact...” 

Heian blinked. Whatever she had expected was not that, had the child experienced destruction on that scale before? Was that the previous overload event the Clef had talked about? She silently wished that she had asked more in the interviews. She shook herself back to the present and refocused on the battle at hand. 

“I’m going to be honest,” She said. “It’s not looking good, the core of your unit is approaching the melting point of tungsten, your cooling systems can’t keep up for much longer, You’re likely to hit the critical point in the next ten minutes.” She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry, I..” Her voice broke and became a croaking sound. 

“I….I’ll shut down my unit.” The child replied. 

“Wha-a…?” The junior researcher choked out. 

“If I power down my core, It will stop the feedback loop right?” 

“Yes , but you’lll be defenseless!” Heian shouted into the microphone. 

“Kaworu...Clef will make it with the spear.” He trailed off. 

“Clef is probably tied up fighting whatever the O5 council threw at them!” Heian let it out. She didn’t care if she was spilling top level secrets in front of dozens of personnel, she didnt care if she was incriminating herself or publicly siding with a traitor. She couldn’t let this child die in the vain hope of a rescue. “The council didn’t approve the use of the spear, Clef went against their orders! They’re going to drop a doomsday device on your head before you explode!”  
She let go of the transmit button and waited for a response. There was only the dampened sound of the battle filtering through the radio plug. Then another explosion shook the war room and the connection died again. 

…….

Shinji felt an icicle sink into his stomach as he heard the researcher’s words. Kaworu wasn’t coming. The Overseers were ready to obliterate the entire area with God-knows-what, and If that didn’t happen in the next ten minutes, then he would explode as the epicenter of another impact event. 

Shinji’s mind raced as he blocked another slice from Zeruel and ducked under an eye blast. In the situation when there was no outcome of victory, tactics dictate that he would need to take the route of action that would result in the least amount of losses. Shinji could lure Zeruel away and then power down, letting the angel destroy him right before the Overseer’s orbital bombardment erased them both from existence. But Shinji wasn’t ready to die. His heart thundered in his ears as tears pooled up in the corner of his vision. He would survive this, he had survived much worse. Shinji pulled unit 01 up and surveyed his surroundings. The easiest thing to do would be to follow the original plan, but eject right before shutting down, but that didn’t guarantee that he would land outside the blast area of the orbital strike. 

Suddenly his eyes lit up. The problem was the S2 engine, but the Evangelions had a backup power source, they always did. Shinji’s hands shook as he thumbed over the controls. He could still do it, the indicator for the onboard batteries showed a full charge with five minutes of stored energy, ready for use at any time. Zeruel unleashed another flurry of strikes, cutting gashes on Unit 01 that rapidly closed without a scar. Without his S2 engine, his power output would be slashed from what was essentially a berserker state, down to the level of ordinary operations. In contrast, Zeruel would probably still be operating in this heightened power until the feedback died down. Shinji recalled the sound of a speaker going into a shrill screech before dying down as the power was cut. He hoped that something similar would happen now. Shinji countered with a stab into the abdomen of the angel and a severe cut downwards. The wound already began to close before the knife even left the flesh. He needed to time it right. With just 5 minutes of battery, he needed to keep Zeruel occupied and still have enough operating time to leap out of the area of the O5’s doomsday weapon, as well as maintaining an AT field while doing so. Shinji checked his watch. It had been about five minutes since the radio had died again, if Heian was right, then he still had around four minutes before unit 01 became another giant crater in the ground. Until then, he needed Zeruel on the ropes. Shinji launched another flurry of punches, striking the angel through the hole in its AT field. The titanous form slumped down as Shinji’s final strike connected. Wasting no time, the third child leaped onto his opponent and slammed the Eva's hand over the mask-like face. Yanking it up, he grabbed the sinewy neck of the angel and twisted its head away. There was another blast of light and a cruciform explosion erupted into the sky on his right. Following up, Shinji’s knife slashed in a wide circle, separating the balde like arms that had risen up to dissect his unit .

Two minutes left.

Unit 01 roared and threw a series of vicious blows at the core of the angel. The bony plate instantly slammed shut over it as the entire torso of Zeruel quivered under the intense assault. 

One minute left.

Shinji let out a howling scream and buried his knife as deep as he could into the torso of the angel. Shinji roared and pushed his head close, opened the Eva’s maw, and clamped down on the angel. Blinding heat exploded in Shinji’s mouth as the superheated tissue seared the jaws of Unit 01. Tears flowed down his face as the teeth tore through the tissue, ripping a massive chunk from Zeruel’s body. Leaping off, Shinji followed through as he raised the left leg and brought it down as hard as he could over the armored core, shaking the ground with the force of the impact.  
Pain erupted in his chest as the pilot finally backed away. He was out of time. Shinji’s fingers flew over the controls as he forcibly shut off the power intake from the core. 

The change was immediate, all the energy and strength drained from his body. Pain exploded in a thousand different places as agony and exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. Shinji gritted his teeth and stood, bolstering his AT field as much as he could as Zeruel slowly got up. Methodically, the angel pulled its face back in place and regarded its vulnerable opponent. The angel’s core was still white hot, and its body radiated with latent power that had not yet dissipated. Shinji sucked in an agonizing breath of LCL. The orange liquid burned his throat as it entered his lungs. 

The angel continued to stand still, seemingly confused for a second, why had its opponent stopped? Shinji pulled out his last knife and brandished it. As if spurred by the sight of a weapon, the angel stood up straighter. Then from deep inside the hollow sockets of its face, two points of blinding light erupted. Shinji cringed away and braced his AT field for the undampened fury of the angel of strength. 

The pain never came. Instead the high pitched charging sound was interrupted by a swift tearing and then a colossal shattering noise. Shinji pried open his eyes to see a rapidly cooling corpse where the terrible angel had stood just a moment earlier. Its core had been completely removed, torn from its body by a shot from behind and pinned to the ground right in front of Unit 01’s feet. A single red helix of metal emerged from the back of the broken S2 engine. There was a creaking sound and the remains of the fourteenth angel toppled over, the now-gelatinous body crashing into the blasted earth with a thud. Shinji squinted past where his opponent had stood. Hovering in the air, about a hundred meters above the ground, was a figure. They were dressed in a simple button up shirt and dark pants, with silvery white hair whipping in the wind and a faint halo hovered above their head. 

Shinji’s legs gave out, finally letting the tears run down his face. The third child let his Eva drop to its knees and slouch over as he sobbed into the LCL. Kaworu had made it, he had stayed true to his word of sticking by Shinji’s side. The pilot looked up at the hovering figure. Kaworu smiled and slowly floated down, gently giving the smoldering armor of the Evangelion a gentle embrace. 

“I’ll always be here for you.” Kaworu’s voice spoke inside Shinji’s head. 

“I-I..I.” Shinji croaked as his voice broke. 

“You don’t have to-” Kaworu reassured him.

“I love you!” Shinji yelled out into the LCL as tears of joy flowed freshly down his face.

“I love you too.” The soothing voice echoed in his head.  
Shinji didn’t respond with words, but a joyous laugh escaped his throat and into the entry plug. The nightmarish ordeal that had begun on this dark stormy morning was finally over. 

Far above the battlefield, a massive orbiting complex of metal, glass and guns powered down its primary weapon and fired its thrusters. Slowly, the platform shifted back to a higher orbit, far away from the battlefield where its payload was no longer needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8/1/2020 update: Finals for summer classes are coming up, so I probably won't be updating for the next week. However I will have more time after classes end, and I will be posting more frequently after August 7th


	21. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with Zeruel is over. The Fourteenth angel lies dead and the Foundation has begun to rebuild. With the temporary peace, the consequences of past actions are bound to catch up. There are few pieces left on the chessboard now, as final stage of every plan starts to converge.

It was un-seasonally chilly as the sun rose over the ruined hills of Site 47. Sounds of construction work filled the air with hundreds of personnel hurrying around, rebuilding the damaged facility on the double. Heavy machinery was littered across the numerous craters and gigantic piles of steel beams were scattered across the remaining grass.

Former Site Director Tallerin surveyed the scene from her temporary residence. It had been a few days since the climactic battle against the fourteenth angel, but there had still been no word about the ethics committee hearing. She technically wasn’t detained, but the entirety of Tau-5 Samsara had shown up mere minutes after the end of the battle to escort her from the Director’s office. They had quickly taken her to this cramped dormitory and dumped her here before taking off to handle something else. She had spent the last few days being denied exit and eating meals passed through a slot on the wall. She knew what this was, this treatment was payback by the council for defying them. At least the overseers had had the decency to give her a white jumpsuit. She couldn’t help but notice its resemblance to the orange ones worn by D class personnel, but it was better than living in a coat and tie. Even locked up, Tallerin decided it would be best to keep her mind sharp until the date of the hearing. A vital part of that would be keeping her living space organized. 

Tallerin pulled her head away from the small window and looked back over her room. Right across from the chair she was sitting in, was a hard, narrow cot. It was the opposite of comfortable but at least it wasn’t the floor. In front of her chair was a plain metal desk that was a bit too high to be useful. On top of that was a simple phone, with only a single button to call to the security center. On the other end of the rectangular space was a toilet/sink combination unit. There was no dresser, wardrobe, or writing utensils. Despite the cleanliness of the room, Tallerin figured that this was probably worse than the accommodations the D class had. The barren sterility was, of course, another form of punishment. There was no way to write down one's thoughts, to store one’s belongings, nor to even mark the passing of time. Tallerin closed her eyes and tapped her fingers along the desk. There was no telling how long the council would hold her here. Tallerin’s thoughts wandered to her former job. The Overseers had declared that they would be running the site until the conclusion of the ethics committee proceedings. 

Of course there was no way the entire council would devote all their time to the operation of just one of their dozens of facilities around the globe. In all likelihood, they would be assigning this task to a single member, and Tallerin had a strong suspicion of who it was: O5-6. The former site director wasn’t too clear about the Councillor’s background, but she was some sort of former military. Tallerin remembered the Overseer for the hotheaded suggestions she would frequently make during the conferences. She was the most aggressive, always pursuing the most decisive route, probably involving some massive bombardment. Still, Tallerin had to admit that she had the record of successful operations to back up her spear shaking. Given that angel neutralizations had been informally assigned to Site 47, it made sense that the Overseer with the most experience in warfare would be in charge of this facility. The former site director frowned. O5-6 was not lenient, her reputation was that of an iron fist, and she wondered what would happen to SCP 6079 and the weaponization project associated with it. There had been no news of Dr. Clef either, and while Tallerin still didn’t buy the story that they were dead, the council had no doubt gotten their hands on them. She shuddered imagining them sitting in a similar cell awaiting some horrible fate. With only two angels left, it seemed that they were in the endgame, whatever that was. 

…….

Shinji sat down on the side of his bed and put in his earbuds. Closing his eyes as the music began, the third child thought back over the events of the last week.

The ground smoldered. Vast curtains of steam continued to waft up from the armor of Evangelion Unit 01. Shinji sat, paralyzed by exhaustion in his entry plug. Outside on the helmet, Kaworu reclined against the large metallic horn.

“I don’t have much time left.” The angel said, tilting his head backwards. “Samsara will be here soon to contain me.”

Shinji was too tired to respond. “I….I’m sorry that we will be separated again, But it appears that my nature as a betrayer will once again pull us apart.” Shinji took a slow breath in and out. A watch beeped alerting him that three minutes of battery remained.

“You...You kept your promise to me Kaworu, you saved me…” Shinji trailed off again. 

“Yes, but my loyalty to you has destroyed what little trust the Overseers had left.” Kaworu lamented. “I will not be able to guide you home, as we planned.” He paused as a large loading bay door to the site opened. Shinji painfully pulled himself up and squinted. Cast in the bright light of the facility, were four armored figures. 

“There they are,” Kaworu commented. “Reintegrated into their bodies stored at Site 47.” He turned his gaze back to The Evangelion. 

“After Armisael is defeated, find me.” Kaworu bent down and pressed his head against the armor of the massive cyborg. 

Panic started to rise in Shinji’s mind as he realized the magnitude of the situation.

“Wh-wait!” He called sitting up taller. “Where will you be?! They’ll never let me out of my cell if they know I’m working with you!” 

“You are more capable than you believe Shinji, you will find a way,” the angel turned around and walked to the very tip of the nose plate. Two massive armored figures rose up in front of him, buoyed up on a pair of faint AT fields. 

“Surrender Tabris.” Irantu’s voice echoed from the left. Kaworu put his hands up and lowered his head.

“I capitulate, the spear is below, in the core of Zeruel.” Irantu took out a pair of bulky shackles and clamped them around Kaworu’s wrists. The angel winced slightly as they locked shut. A blue indicator light turned on and the contraption beeped. The Samsara squad leader reached out a massive gauntlet and clamped her grasp of the center of the cuffs. Then she heaved the much smaller angel off of his perch, dangling him in mid air. 

“This is Irantu reporting, The seventeenth angel has been contained.” There was a short pause before Irantu nodded again. Without another word the two super soldiers and their prisoner began to descend. As Kaworu’s head sunk out of view, he quickly turned to Shinji and gave a warm, genuine smile.

“I believe in you.” He whispered in Shinji’s mind, before the crop of silver hair vanished and Shinji was left alone in the entry plug, silently listening to the beeping low battery alert. 

The third child’s thoughts snapped back to the present. The first few days afterwards had been awful. He felt like he had gone back to the first day of containment, a cruel and hostile world with no chance of reprieve. Researcher Heian had taken notice of his mental state and canceled the training and testing, but still that didn’t help the grief. The junior researcher had even taken him to the cafeteria during his visitation hours, but the atmosphere remained tense and frigid. Shinji had taken his time to focus his attention towards his coming battles. Arael and Armisael were the only two children of Adam that remained, and these were two of the most devastating encounters of all. The former had left Asuka a husk of her former self, and the latter had necessitated the self destruction of an Evangelion to neutralize. Shinji’s stomach flipped, he didn’t think he was ready to sacrifice himself like Rei. 

On top of that, he had heard about a potential reorganization of Site 47. The previous site director, Shinji knew her as an older woman with a penchant for dark suits, had apparently been removed for insubordination. According to cafeteria rumors, the Overseers were taking direct control over the entire facility. Shinji groaned slightly and flopped down on his bed. Kaworu would never have planned for this, what was he to do, now that the O5 council was putting the entire facility under a magnifying glass. How was he going to escape? Whether he would even be allowed to continue piloting Unit 01 was still up in the air. Whoever was now in charge, Shinji was already feeling the new policies. Guard rotations had been heavily increased around the entire site and armed checkpoints were popping up left and right inside containment zones. It seemed that despite the pressing threat of an external angel attack, most of the guns were now pointing inwards at the mostly unarmed anomalies. Nausea rose as recognition dawned on him. This situation was all too familiar for the third child. The most recent events, first marked by a cascading string of pyrrhic victories, then the loss of Kaworu, and finally the last stages of the council’s plan falling into place. Shinji could feel it in his bones, just like with third impact, the current situation was untenable, and would reach a breaking point quite soon. Shinji swallowed in anxiety as the next song on his playlist began.

…….

Researcher Heian sighed as the elevator reached the bottom. Taking a long swig of coffee from her thermos, the junior researcher stepped out onto the pathway that would take her to the command bridge for SCP 6079. There had been no inquiries so far into her possession of the SCP 2000 file, or her actions during the chaotic events in the war room, but Heian knew that she was far from being in the clear. She didn’t know if Clef was still alive or not, but a traitor and an insubordinate director both coming from the same site did not bode well for Heian’s transgression slipping away unnoticed. She shook her head as her feet reached the automatic door. That was a worry for a different time, she had deleted all the sensitive information from her account and had covered her tracks as best she could. Now she had to get back to work. Opening the door, the researcher set down her materials at her workstation and walked to the very front of the room . The massive weapon had sustained heavy damage in the last battle and repairs were slow. While all the organic anatomy was intact due to its supernatural regenerative capabilities, the superheated core had turned vast sections of armor into useless slag. Heian took another sip of coffee as one of the massive roof cranes slowly lowered a new chest plate over the now dormant core. A beeping sound drew the researcher’s eye downwards. A massive flatbed vehicle backed into position along one of the arms of the titan, carrying a giant bracer. There was also the issue of the battery packs which, although functional, had nonetheless been heavily damaged by the intense heat and would also need to be replaced. All in all, the repairs were still several days from being completed. Heian sighed and turned back to her workstation. She had a few reports to look over for the morning. Then after lunch, there was another interview with the pilot. The project head sat down and hunched forwards towards the monitor. She clicked to open the first file and was just about to read when the PA system blared to life in the armored overlook. 

“ALL SCP 6079 PERSONNEL, PLEASE REPORT TO CONFERENCE ROOM B-03 FOR BRIEFING.” 

Heian scrunched her eyebrows together as the rest of the people in the room turned to look at her expectantly. The project head slowly shook her head.

“I...didn’t know about this.” She explained as she stood up. “But given our, uhm, unusual current circumstance regarding the administration of the site, I assume this is about that..” She trailed off awkwardly, but the rest of the team seemed to understand and gave subdued nods of agreement. Heian turned and wiped the beads of sweat from her brow. With all the charges of treason being thrown around, she had to be careful regarding anything she said from now on. 

The small team of researchers that worked on the armored bridge quietly made their way through the halls of the site. Heian heard some small talk behind her, but she was too nervous to engage in any kind of conversation at the moment. The possible outcomes of the “briefing” swirled in her head. Heian eventually decided that this could be one of two things, either it really was just a benign update on the stale management procedures, or this was information on the status of a certain detained traitor.

The door to the conference room was minimalist, a rectangle of lightly colored wood flanked by a piece of frosted glass. The junior researcher steeled herself as she approached and pushed it open, holding it for the rest of her team to filter through. 

The room was larger than she had expected, the high, smooth ceiling was interrupted by a single projector that had been lowered from its alcove. Chairs were arranged in rows facing a large screen, and many of the engineers and workers from inside the dock had already sat down. Heian’s eyes lit up as she spotted Captain Brigetson sitting cross legged at the far edge of the room. The junior researcher quickly walked over and plopped herself down in an empty chair.

“Good morning.” She smiled weakly at her companion. The guard captain jerked up and blinked in surprise. Heian winced in sympathy as she saw that the captain’s body was once again in bandages. 

“Are-are you alright?” Heian said sitting down slowly.

“As fine as I can after being thrown into a wall by a mass of tentacles.” She answered painfully.

“I...I am really sorry.” The junior researcher said. The captain painfully nodded. 

“So, what do you think this is all about?” Heian gestured to the remaining seats slowly filling up.

Brigetson sighed. “If I’m going to be blunt, I’m scared. The info we have on the last two angels...well it doesn't look too good for us, especially with the director being removed.” 

“Yeah…” Heian trailed off.

“Did you hear,” Brigetson continued. “Apparently Samsara nabbed the seventeenth angel on the same day of the last attack, A bunch of the intel on that is still classified, so I don’t know much” She paused. “My condolences, about Dr. Clef.” She said quietly after an awkward silence. 

Heian swallowed. She had heard the official story. Clef had supposedly fallen in combat against the seventeenth angel, somehow stalling the creature until Samsara had shown up and contained the entity, but she knew better. 

Heian wasn’t sure if the Overseers were still keeping Clef alive, but the doctor’s final words to her suggested that they would live through their betrayal to deal with the “consequences”. In any case, they were gone now.

“I know Clef was very important to the 6079 project and did a lot of great work.” Brigetson said.

“Yeah.” Heian croaked out. Without Clef, there was nobody left in the site that knew as much as she did, there was no one whom she could discuss classified information with, and above all, there was no one who could help her if the Overseers decided to even the score. 

The murmurs of the crowd quieted as the lights dimmed and the projector flickered on. Heian sat up straight as the screen was filled with a red Foundation insignia. 

“Good morning Site 47 personnel.” An imposing synthesized voice echoed from hidden speakers. “I know there is a lot of confusion and many questions about recent events, but before I get there, I would like to introduce myself, I am O5-6.” Murmurs broke out among the audience. Heian felt a chill run down her spine. They know! A voice screamed in her head. It took all her effort to keep her face still. 

“Yes, yes an unexpected visit from a commanding officer,” The Overseer continued. “Cutting all the formalities, due to recent issues regarding the site administration, I will be personally taking over the duties of site director for the foreseeable future.” There was less murmuring at those words. “Having reviewed all the relevant records, I am personally here today, to inform you all that there will be drastic changes to the SCP 6079 project.” Heian held her breath.

“Firstly, SCP 6079 will be retiring from its current duty of angel neutralization, the weapon and its pilot are to be reassigned to reserve. Secondly, research on SCP 6079 is to be refocused towards replication of its technologies and systems. Thirdly, due to SCP 6079 no longer being deployed in combat operations, many of you will be transferred to other projects.” Silence filled the air as the grating, synthesized voice of the overseer died down. Nobody spoke as the dim buzzing of the projector continued.

“Very well.” O5-6 concluded. “You should all be receiving an email-”

“Wait!” The words left her mouth before Heian even realized it. Instantly several dozen pairs of eyes were on back..

“What. Is. It?” O5-6 growled out of the speakers. Heian took a deep breath and composed herself. She was doing this not for herself, but for her team.

“Ma’am,” She began. “I’m sorry for speaking out of turn, but what is the rationale for cutting the SCP 6079 combat program on such short notice, I believe our results have been...sufficient to demonstrate the value of our project!” A staticy sound came from the speakers, something Heian took as a sigh of frustration. When the overseer spoke again, her voice was low.

“First of all, the sufficiency of results is not for you to judge, have you considered how much this project of yours has cost the Foundation? There is collateral damage and vital opportunity lost every time we rely that weapon. In fact most of the damage in the neutralization of the last angel was down to the unintended interaction between SCP 6079 and the hostile entity.” Heian opened her mouth to retort but immediately reconsidered. 

“Furthermore,” O5-6 continued. “As previous experience has shown, incorporating anomalies into our combat forces invariably produces disastrous outcomes. SCP 6079 has been allowed to be used for this long simply because other alternatives were designated too costly. However, as there are developments that are currently classified, the need to rely on an interdimensional anomaly for defense has passed. THAT is why the decision has been made to move SCP 6079 to reserve!” Heian plopped down in her chair and swiftly nodded. 

“Now, if there are no further interruptions,” O5-6 growled. “There will be more information about these developments in an email as well as in the presentation to follow this one. I commend your successes, your sacrifices are not forgotten.” The speakers cut off and the projector turned off abruptly followed slowly by the lights coming back on. Heian sat still, staring straight ahead as another presenter walked to the front of the room and started a monotone delivery.

“That…” Captain Brigetson said as she nudged the pralayzed researcher. “Was kind of stupid.”

“Ye-eah.” Heian rattled out a breath. She was shaken, definitely, it didn’t help that her own guilty conscience was pressing down on her the entire time, but there was another part of her that was quietly glad. Was the vindication from standing up to an Overseer and getting away with it? Was it the adrenaline that was just making her justify things? Heian didn’t know, but she had gotten answers at least, even if it was really stupid. The junior researcher slumped back in her chair as the briefing continued. 

…….

Former site director Tallerin squinted as her eyes adjusted to the bright light. She blinked a few times as her vision refocused. The room she found herself in was large and rectangular, with a long judge’s bench on the other side. The light was coming from the massive windows to her right that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Tallerin slowly turned her head to look out at the scenery. The view opened on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The deep blue waves slowly churned as they lazily frothed against the rocks below. Tilting her head up, Tallerin could see that the sky was blue and cloudless. 

There was the sound of a door opening and Tallerin instantly looked to her left. A light fiberglass panel had been pushed ajar and a short file of people had begun to walk into the room. Silently they each took their places behind the bench and sat down, opening their large binders and shuffling around some papers. The former site director watched as the last individual passed through the door, closing it behind them and took her place at the center of the bench. Tallerin shifted her feet on the carpet. Many of the faces she knew from internal briefings and documents. They were members of the Ethics committee.

Early that morning, over two weeks after the start of her detention, Irantu had abruptly opened her cell door and personally escorted the former site director to a helicopter. She had been flown to a small Foundation airstrip before she was put on a plane which had flown for a few hours before landing on a similarly tiny airstrip. From there she had been driven along a long, winding path through a thick forest before being dumped into this room. It seemed that the Overseers had enough revenge and finally decided to proceed with the hearing. Tallerin took another look at her would-be-judges. Over a dozen pairs crimson irises returned her gaze. In her long career at the Foundation, Tallerin had run-ins with the ethics committee before, especially back in her field agent days. While information was always classified and the encounters were few, she had learned enough to be wary. The Ethics committee was much more powerful than they first appeared. Far from being a rubber stamp organization just for show, they were the only ones that could possibly challenge the decision of the Overseers. 

“Joriea Tallerin, former site director for site 47, you are here today for a hearing regarding your insubordination and subsequent removal from the site director position, is that correct?” The former site director silently cursed. Her original petition had been directed at the Overseers and their decision to terminate hundreds of sentient anomalies, but since she had been detained before ever filing a formal petition, The Council probably twisted the case so that she was now the one defending her actions. Still, trying to protest at this point would probably end up with her case being thrown out, and her person being thrown back into a cell. 

“That is correct.” Tallerin nodded. 

“Very well,” The committee member said. “Please recount, in full, the events that led up to your removal from the position of site director.” 

Tallerin took a deep breath and began to speak. She told them about the confusion that had resulted from the sarkic attack and the subsequent appearance of the fourteenth angel. She told them about the discovery of the S2 engine resonance and the impending catastrophe. She told them about how the council had declared the appearance of the seventeenth angel. And she told them of how the Overseers had ordered her to terminate a large number of SCP’s in her facility. When she finally finished, the former site director was weary, uncomfortable and drowsy. 

The head of the dias nodded slowly before opening her binder and removing several sheets of paper. 

“I have here, a transcript of the conversation that was recorded, does it look correct to you?” The guard standing by the door walked over, took the papers from the dias and handed them to Tallerin. The former site director carefully read over the lines. The transcript was accurate as far as she could remember. There was the mention about the order, then the dissent from her end. Something about K class scenarios, and then the request for more information. Silence from the council followed and then a demotion before the connection was cut. Tallerin looked up from the paper. 

“This seems accurate to my recollection, and seems to be in line with my previous testimony.” She was careful with her language. Only say what you mean to say and do not imply anything else. “I believe that this transcript and my testimony corroborate each other to a great extent.” She concluded.

Several members of the dias slowly nodded. “I see.” Said the head of the panel. “Then this subcommittee will conveen to privately to review other evidence, in the meantime, there will be further questioning about the specifics of the situation.”

With that, every member of the dias stood up, except for one, and proceeded to walk out of the door. Tallerin turned her gaze to the single remaining committee member who moved herself to sit in the center. 

“Alright,” She said. “There are some more questions I need to ask you, are you prepared to answer them now?” Tallerin looked out the window. The sun was still high in the sky, and although the chair was uncomfortable on her old bones, she had to tough it out if she wanted to be released.

“Yeah,” She said, turning back to the dias. “I’m ready.” 

……

The sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving the sky a watery mix of red and purple when the questioner finally concluded and left the room. The guard vacated soon after, leaving the former site director alone with the sunset. She let out a groan as she stood up, stretching her aching joints. It had been a grueling affair, the questions were often winding and seemingly unrelated to the matter at hand. She had tried her best to keep her voice steady and consistent as she answered them, but the hours had worn her patience thin and by the end she was giving simple yes or no answers. Now she was completely exhausted. Her throat was parched, her stomach grumbled and all her muscles hurt. Tallerin turned and slowly walked to the window. The evening was slowly darkening into night, and the moon was just peaking above the waves. She sat down and took a moment to stare at it. Her gaze meticulously traced out the craters and maria on its surface. Her thoughts drifted. Were the ethics committee examining her case right now? Were they also tracing out every imperfection, and mistake on her record to find some reason to condemn her? Had they made their choice already or were they still in heated debate? Lost among these thoughts Tallerin didn’t notice as her eyes closed and she drifted off.

“Joriea Tallerin.” The former site director started as she jolted awake at her name. She instantly reprimanded herself for falling asleep on the floor during such an important proceeding and turned to look at the voice. The woman who was sitting at the head of the dias stood in the door, silhouetted by the harsh light of the hallway.

“The committee has reached a consensus.” She held out a sheet of paper. Tallerin rubbed her eyes and groggily walked over. Taking the document, she squinted at it as her vision cleared. She let out a silent sigh of relief as her eyes fell on the words “cleared of wrongdoing”.

“You’re free.” The dias head said bluntly. “After review of all the relevant testimony, we found insufficient evidence for criminal insubordination.” Tallerin looked up from the paper with dreary eyes.

“And what about the Overseer’s anomaly termination order? Has the committee reached a decision on how to respond to that?” She asked.

“We are not at liberty to disclose those proceedings with you.” The representative said. She then gestured down the hall back to the modern glass door that led outside. “You will be flown back to your personal residence and your status as Foundation employee has been reinstated. However the revocation of your directorate position still stands, and as such you are currently suspended from active duty.” She extended a hand to the former site director. 

“I apologize for the hassle, and the liminal status of your employment, get some rest.” Tallerin reached out and shook hands with the ethics committee representative. 

“Thanks.” She said quietly before turning and slowly walking to the entrance. Quietly, she pushed open the glass and gazed out at the sky. The moon was high in the sky now, far above the ocean and the waves. Tallerin dropped her hands to her side and closed her eyes. She stood on the front steps for a long time, breathing in the fresh sea breeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A more character focused chapter, there will be a return to action in the next one.


	22. Desolation of the Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fifteenth angel finally shows itself. As Arael hovers high out in space, O5-6 initiates a bold and aggressive mission to destroy it before the angel can make a move. However, disaster lurks around the corner, and with this decision, the Overseers may have just thrown away the best card they had.

Researcher Heian wasn’t sure what to expect as the demobilization of the SCP 6079 project began. It had only started a few days ago, but she had already said goodbye to quite a few colleagues, the bridge was getting spareser by the day. Her mind had been filled with worries about the transfers, the future of her career, and the pilot of the weapon. So she didn’t notice as a suited agent swiftly approached as she waited for the elevator. 

“Junior Researcher Heian?” The formal tone of the question immediately set off her metal alarms.

“y-Yes, that’s me.” She stuttered out, turning to face the questioner. Her heart leaped into her throat. Was this it? Had the bill for her snooping around finally come due? 

“You are needed in the war room immediately.” The agent said in a monotonous voice. Heian blinked. She wasn’t expecting that.

“Uh yeah.” She said before following after the suit. The agent walked through the halls at a hurried pace, seamlessly weaving between groups of oncoming people. Heian struggled to keep up the pace as they wound their way towards the buried war room. Despite their speed, it still took quite a while, but eventually, the imposing armored doors appeared at the end of the last hallway. The agent seemed to glide through, the gates opening just in time to let her in without the need to slow down. Heian jogged to make it in before they sealed again. 

The war room was bustling with activity just like the last time she saw it. The large screens that lined the walls were all lit up with images from high orbit, and technicians operated every station. The agent walked down a few steps before motioning for the researcher to follow. Heian pulled her gaze from the commotion around her and trailed after the suit. Winding past the chaotic stations, they arrived at a single large screen filled with a red foundation logo.

“Ma’am, the researcher is here.” The suit noted.

“Yes, the project head for SCP 6079 was it?” Heian shivered as she recognized O5-6’s synthetic voice. She stayed silent.

“That’s correct.” The agent replied.

“Dismissed.” The Overseer said. The agent nodded and walked away.

“Junior Researcher Heian,” O5-6 turned her attention. “You must be curious as to why you have been brought here.” 

The researcher opened her mouth to respond, but the overseer didn’t wait for her reply.

“You have been brought here because you possess a large amount of experience working with the late Dr. Clef.” Heian remained. “Given your familiarity with their knowledge and methods, especially regarding the angels, you have been requisitioned to help us with this.” 

The circular sigil faded away and was replaced with a video feed identical to the others in the room. The surface of the planet was far below, appearing as a wide blue curve along the bottom of the picture. At the center of the focus was a brilliant spot of blue-white light. 

The screen beeped and the picture zoomed in. The glowing dot expanded on screen, jagged edges and fractal branches appeared as the electric shape grew to cover most of the screen. Heian’s leaned in closer. Buried at the center, between the symmetrical pair of wings, was a small, dark sphere.

“The fifteenth angel was detected several hours ago this morning.” O5-6 outlined. “A plan has already been put together for its neutralization, you are needed on standby in the unlikely event your particular expertise is required.” Heian carefully considered those words. 

“So, does that mean SCP 6079 will be involved in some way?” She inquired.

“No.” O5-6 curtly retorted. “In case I didn’t make myself clear enough at the briefing, SCP 6079 is now in RESERVE, and will not be used without the utmost emergency!” Heian slightly winced at the outburst from the Overseer. 

“Tau 5 Samsara, along with the anti-angel eigenweapon division will be handling this operation.” The screen switched again to show the blueprint for a large anti-material rifle. Heian immediately recognized it as the prototype positron cannon. The picture changed again to show a gargantuan artillery position. The completed rifle, or a modified version of the design, was mounted on a massive mechanical apparatus, with its barrel pointed up into the sky. 

“As you may be aware,” The councillor continued. “The fifteenth angel’s barrier is too powerful even for this weapon to penetrate at maximum range. In order to resolve this issue, Samsara will approach the target in orbit with reality anchors. They are to fire the devices in close proximity to the enemy, neutralizing its defensive shielding, allowing the surface position to take the kill shot.” 

“The fifteenth angel is very dangerous, psionically speaki-” Heian began.

“We do not need you to remind us of that fact.” O5-6 sneered. “Samsara’s armor has been outfitted with Telekill alloy to protect against psychic attacks.” Heian wanted to reply that a few millimeters of shielding didn’t seem sufficient against the power of the fifteenth angel, but she decided against disagreeing with the Overseer. 

“Understood.” She replied, before giving a salute.

“Be ready, operation begins in 25 minutes.” Then the monitor shut off. Heian turned and walked to an empty chair near the edge of the war room and sat down. She lowered her head and thought over the conversation. It made sense that for this angel, the higher ups had decided against using SCP 6079. The fifteenth angel, which the child had called “Arael”, was particularly effective against the large cybernetic weapons, its attacks were capable of causing enormous mental trauma and rendering the pilots comatose. Still, using Samsara didn’t seem to be much better. Was that telekill alloy really going to protect them? Heian didn’t know for sure, but her gut told her no. The researcher checked the nearest clock. It was going to be a while, she might as well get ready for the long haul, who knew how long this operation would take? 

…….

The bustling of the war room slowly sped up as the clock ticked closer to the starting time. More and more people filed into the armored command center, the number of empty chairs and seats slowly dwindling. More screens and monitors flickered on all around the room as the minutes went by, until, at the five minute mark, the central monitor changed to the red foundation logo. 

“Attention!” the Overseer’s voice boomed from every speaker in the room. Several dozen heads turned to stare at the unmoving sigil. 

“The operation for the neutralization of the fifteenth angel is about to begin. Before we start however, this operation will be drastically different from all the previous ones. The mission will be carried out exactly according to plan, do not attempt individual heroics, or go against the procedure that has been outlined before. This will be a clean, surgical strike that will destroy the angel in the minimum time required, all other concerns are secondary, is that clear?” 

A wave of affirmatives and nods went up around the room. 

“I am getting confirmation that the Eigenweapon division and Samsara are both in position as well. Action stations!” O5-6 ordered.

All around her, technicians, operators, and command staff all turned back to their screens and began to work. Surveying the room, Heian considered where best to put herself. She had been brought here to advise and consult for the operation, a replacement for Clef’s knowledge and expertise. However, Heian was aware that her own knowledge about the angels was just as lacking as the rest of the Foundation. If the overseers didn’t know something, how could she? Instead her eyes wandered to a small, semi-circular alcove on the far wall. She squinted at the screens. At first she thought that they had been displaying readings about the status of SCP 6079, but as she looked more carefully, she realized that they were monitoring the status of the Tau 5 team. She could see four unique, but similar looking wires mesh figures displayed. Each of them carrying a thruster pack on their backs and bristling with weapons. While Heian wasn’t very familiar with the angels, beyond what she had gathered from interviews with the child, she did know a lot of SCP 6079. Given that Tau 5 were designed from reverse engineering the massive cyborg, the junior researcher concluded she could best serve the mission over there. Picking herself up from the seat, Heian walked over towards the alcove.

The other personnel at the station didn’t pay her much attention as the researcher awkwardly plopped herself down on an unused countertop. 

“All systems are green.” One of the technicians reported through a microphone. “Samsara, you are cleared to exit your orbiters.” Heian looked back at the main screens. Four of the monitors had switched to the camera feed from Tau-5’s helmets, the name of each super soldier was marked in the upper left. 

“Affirmative.” Irantu’s voice came over the speakers. On the leftmost screen, the door of a cramped orbiter capsule was blasted outwards. A quick flash of orange passed over the video and Irantu pulled herself out from the dark interior and into the sky. Onru, Munru, and Nanku quickly followed suit, quickly moving into the vacuum.

“Tau-5, take the onboard reality anchors and move to intercept the angel.” O5-6 commanded. 

The videos panned leftward as all 4 members of Samsara turned to grab a bulky handle on the exterior of their orbiters.   
“Begin AT field propulsion.” Irantu relayed. Simultaneously, the entire team’s cameras surged forwards, accelerating towards the branching, fractal angel. 

“Samsara, be advised, you are within enemy weapon range.” One of the technicians spoke into the comms.

“Roger.” Irantu affirmed.

“Detecting no response from the target.” The angel monitoring station reported.

“Increase speed.” O5-6 ordered. There was a slight jolt on all four screens as their approach quickened in pace. Heian held her breath as the vicious wings got closer. 

“Abnormalities in the target AT field!” The angel monitoring station shouted. Heian had barely registered a voice when Nanku’s video feed was engulfed by a brilliant prismatic flash.

The researcher’s eye immediately darted to the vital monitor. Bright red warnings popped up all across the wire frame. “Brain waves patterns have gone haywire! I’ve never seen anything like this before!” A technician shouted.

Heian looked closer. The graphs showed massive spikes in all kinds of neurological readings, clearly the telekill armor was having little effect against the attack. 

“I...That’s got to be the most powerful psychic attack on record!” Heian heard. “The telekill alloy is heating up trying to absorb all that energy!” The researcher pushed the painful information aside and focused on what she knew. From her interviews with SCP 6079, she gathered that in the event of potential neurological damage to the pilot, the standard operating procedure was to disconnect the synchronization. She leaned in to the technician.

“I know that all of Samsara has the ability to switch bodies, you need to get her out of there now.”

“Moving to transfer Nanku to-” The technician began.

“No.” O5-6 interrupted suddenly. “Do not drop Nanku from her current position, The rest of Tau 5 will proceed to the target without her at increased speed!” 

The video feeds of the remaining 3 members of Samsara turned from their writhing comrade back to the angel. A narrow beam of light was just visible, emanating from the luminescent, jagged shape and ending at Nanku. There was a pause before the three took off again. 

“Ghhhhh- uh-mmmmmmmmmm.” A painful, crackling, moan came through from Nanku’s radio.

“I...I can’t feel my mind...why can’t I remember?” Heian shivered as the words filled the war room. “It burns….” Nanku weakly groaned.

“The telekill plates on Nanku are reaching unsafe temperatures! Soon they will no longer be able to dampen the attack!” Someone called. 

“Eject them.” O5-6 replied coldly. 

“Yes ma’am.” The technician lowered their head and got to work. There was a harsh alert and the wireframe changed again. External temperatures along Nanku’s body dropped, but the neurological readings spiked even higher. 

“There’s..s something in my mind.” Nanku was speaking barely above a whisper.

“This is really bad.” muttered someone else sitting at the alcove. “I’m reading mental intrusion, physical damage of the nervous system, intense, forced memory recall.” The technician turned to O5-6’s monolithic screen. “If we don’t transfer now, we will not be able to retrieve her at all!” 

The crimson logo was silent for a long moment.

“Fine.” The overseer finally said. “Transfer Nanku back to a unit in Site 47 and then destroy the body in orbit.” The technician quickly turned back around and began typing in commands to the terminal. A split second later Nanku’s radio died and the body went limp. Immediately, Arael’s beam began to dim as its target mind vanished.

“Beginning core implosion sequence!” The technician pushed her glasses up before her hands returned to flying across the keyboard. “Sequence initiated, destruction of the empty Nanku unit in 3...2...1...0!” 

There was no sound in the thin atmosphere in high orbit, but a blinding flash erupted from the spot where an armored body was orbiting just a moment before. Heian stared in shock as both the body and orbiter were obliterated in an instant. 

“Angel’s AT field is reconfiguring again!” Another warning was bellowed through the air. 

“It’s choosing its next target!” Heian shouted. No sooner had the words left her mouth, then Onru’s video was consumed by the terrible chromatic glare. 

“Increase psionic dampeners to maximum and sever the nerve bundles if you have to.” O5-6 growled. “We need Onru to last as long as possible!” Warnings and alerts erupted over Onru’s wire mesh. Neurotransmitter and brain chemistry graphs skyrocketed as the telekill armor was instantly overloaded by the unstoppable psionic onslaught. 

“Floating….so many bodies…dim...blood all around....” Onru’s croaking voice filled the room. “The blades….pain...flesh, bone, twisted...remade. Metal and glass.” Heian suppressed a dry heave and continued to stare at the screen. It seemed that the angel was destroying Onru’s mind even faster than it had with Nanku, it was becoming more efficient.

“Flood the body with tranquilizers!” O5-6 commanded. Keys clacked and there was a sudden rush of green into the wireframe model.

“Nervous system is responding favorably to injection,” The technician reported. “Onru is entering a sleep-like state.” All across the screen, brainwave patterns began to drop, as nerve damage slowed to a crawl. Heian let her shoulders fall and breathed out a quiet sigh. Onru was still in the firing line, but they had slowed the damage, maybe this would buy Irantu and Munru enough time to finish the mission. 

“The...capsule…..have to get the anchor….” Onru’s voice was weak as she drifted towards unconsciousness, but Heian could still make out the words. Her brows furrowed. Why did she say those words? If the angel was in Onru’s mind, and she was thinking about the mission…

“Targets AT field is morphing!” A warning was shouted across the room. “Enemy weapon is retargeting!” On screen, the glow around Onru’s limp body was beginning to dim as the beam of light was retracted. 

“What?!” O5-6 howled from the speakers. 

“It knows our plan..” Heian heard the technician mutter under her breath. The junior researcher’s heart leaped into her throat. It made sense, what Onru had said before passing out, the angel had finally found the memory it was looking for, it knew about the reality anchors. With lightning speed Heian reached out her hand and bent the technician’s microphone towards her. 

“Irantu! You’re closest to the target watch out!” Heian ignored the technician’s glare and whipped her head back to look at the screen. The squad leader was close, the edges of the angel’s wings were well off the picture and a red spherical core was clearly visible, tucked beneath a pair of glowing appendages.

“Starting evasive maneuvers.” Irantu reported. An orange light pulsed through the image, and the view started to jolt left just as a telltale iridescence flared from the target 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” A shrill cry of pain cut through the air of the war room as Irantu’s camera drowned in the overexposed flare. Goosebumps crawled over the researcher’s skin as the agonized scream dragged on. 

“The enemy attack signature has changed!” The angel monitoring station shouted. 

“Massive neural tissue death, severe seizures, her whole body is shutting down!” 

Irantu’s wireframe model instantly plunged into a deep red, “danger” and “critical” warnings exploded across the monitor. It wasn’t searching for memories anymore, Heian ralized. The angel was shooting to kill. Carried by the momentum of her earlier mauver, Irantu’s comatose body drifted off course. The entire war room watched in stunned horror as Arael’s gargantuan, jagged form sailed past on camera, safely outside the reality anchor’s range.

“Pull Irantu back and destroy the body!” The Overseer’s electronic voice screeched. The technician nodded. A split second later, Irantu’s camera degraded to static. Munru's camera captured a bright flash and a large fireball winking into existence behind the angel before the expanding blast faded back into the inky black. 

“The angel is retargeting.” 

There was no response to those words this time. Everyone knew who would be next. There was no way Munru could get in range before the angel liquified her brain. After that, Arael would simply doge out the way of the orbiting capsule. They had failed. The angel was victorious. Even the overseer had gone silent, all eyes were trained on the last camera feed, awaiting the moment of their inevitable defeat. All except for Heian. The Junior researcher was hunched over with her eyes closed, wracking through her thoughts. She had gone through so many interviews with the pilot of SCP 6079, she had worked with Clef, learned their secrets, surely she had picked up something useful along the way, something that could save this situation. Her mind went to the AT fields. They were the light of the soul….that was what Clef had said…maybe they weren’t there to just protect the body...maybe the AT fields could also protect the soul. 

Heian’s head jerked up with a gleam in her eyes. Moving in a blur, she reached out and grabbed the headset off of the very annoyed technician and slapped it over her own skull.

“Munru, you have to use your AT field! Pull it in to protect your heart, your soul!” 

“Who let her touch the comms?!” O5-6’s judgement thundered from the speakers. Heian winced but didn’t waver.

“The AT fields can protect you even from psychic attacks! You have to keep it as close to your soul you can!” Blood pounded in her ears as her words faded.

“I understand.” Munru responded. Her picture flashed orange right before the dreaded chromatic beam devoured the image. The entire war room held its breath, work stations and monitoring duties were forgotten. The only sound was the whirring of machines as all eyes stared intently at the painfully bright screen. 

“Munru, report.” O5-6 hesitantly broke the silence. The screen continued to display nothing but the blinding light. 

Then the speakers crackled. “Still operational.” Munru’s voice was faint, but Heian’s heart leapt at the words. All around the room there was an audible sigh of relief as personnel turned back to their work, refocusing back on completing the mission with renewed hope. The junior researcher shaily removed the headset and handed it back to a very stunned technician. 

“Tau 5, be advised, your telekill armor is still heating up from the angel’s attack.” She said turning back to the last remaining wireframe model. 

“Understood.” Munru reported, her voice strained, “Do not eject them.” Heian took a closer look at the status model. Unlike the last three times, Munru’s vitals were not as alarming. There was definitely an elevated stress level throughout her body, and the core was running at a higher output than normal, but on the whole, her current situation appeared stable.   
“You will be within range of the angel’s in a few minutes, be prepared to decelerate as soon as the reality anchor goes off, ground team will fire as soon as the angel is vulnerable.” 

“Affirmative,” Munru replied. “Priming thruster pack.” There was a beep from the monitor and a new green module appeared on the wireframe.

“Fuel circulation is good.” The technician said. Then she turned back to the Overseer’s screen.   
“Four minutes until we are within firing range.” 

“You may fire when ready.” The Overseer replied. Heian noticed that while O5-6 was as loud as before, all the fire seemed to have vanished from her voice. She sounded baffled, maybe even shocked. 

“Ughh.” A faint groan of pain came from the comms channel. “The angel...seems to be intensifying its attack..” Munru painfully said. 

“Two hundred seconds.” The technician announced, to the room. Sweat rolled down Heian’s face. Was she going to make it? 

“I...I can feel it, striking on the outside of my AT field.” Munru strained.

“One eighty.” 

“It...It’s so bright, I can’t...I can’t think.” Heian’s blood turned to ice, the angel was breaking in, they were out of time. She leaned in to the technician.

“Turn on the thrusters.” She said in her most authoritative tone. “Get her there now.” The technician turned back, her face contorted in an expression of hesitation and fear. 

“But she’ll crash right into the angel’s AT field!” She protested.

“Not after we fire that reality anchor.” Heian spoke, her lips twisting into a sly smile. The technician’s eyes lit up as well.

“Proximity fuse! That-yeah, that’s installed!” She whipped around in a flash and pulled up a new console. “I can plot a deorbit burn straight under the angel, fire the anchor when it's eighty meters from the core, then we’ll decelerate her afterwards!” She excitedly mumbled under her breath

“Munru, be advised, we are firing your thrusters and setting a proximity fuse on the reality anchor, you just have to stay on target, make sure the angel catches the payload!” 

“I-I can do that.” Munru quietly said. “I can do that.” 

The technician lifted her hands as she finished the last command and jammed the enter key as hard as she could. Munru’s camera captured the reflection of the bright exhaust plume on her armor, before the entire picture rocketed forward at breakneck speed. 

“Firing in approximately 10 seconds!” 

“On...target….” Munru was barely audible above the vibrations of the rocket engine through her helmet. Heian’s gaze was locked on to the main monitor. Arael was too close to even fit on screen. Only the central body was visible with its crimson core hanging beneath. The mirror-like surface of the organ reflected the luminescent angel in a warped, spherical image. Heian squinted, she could even make out the curvature of the planet far below in addition to a rapidly approaching plume of fire. 

“And...now!” Came a shout from beside her. The video cut out.

“AT field has been neutralized, all associated readings are plummeting!” The angel monitoring station instantly yelled out. 

“The angel’s weapon is also offline, Eigenweapon division confirms that they are ready to fire!” 

The static on the main screen crackled, once, twice, thrice, before the picture faded back in. Munru was on her back, quickly moving away beneath the massive wings. The orbiter capsule and the reality anchor had been let go and were nothing but a tiny speck in the distance. 

“Starting deceleration burn!” The technician answered. “Munru is outside of the target area!” 

“Eigenweapon division, “ A third station called at the back of the room, “take the shot now!” 

Heian whipped her head to look towards the voice just in time to see the massive positron cannon unleash its firepower. The entire monitor dimmed as the overexposed particle beam cut through the atmosphere, blowing a gigantic hole through the cloud layer, directly into space. She turned back to Munru’s helmet cam. Arael was still there, an eerie pair of luminous wings hanging in space. Pushing the danger and hostility from her mind, Heian could imagine that the creature really was a divine messenger. Silhouetted against the night sky, the angel of birds seemed almost peaceful. 

Then it exploded. A bright blue beam tore in from the left, piercing directly through the core before continuing out into the void. There was a small shockwave as the crucial organ was instantly obliterated. Then the entire structure of the angel convulsed. Wings jolted, before coming apart at the joints, extremities sheared off, luminous prongs and branches folded in on themselves, twisting, disintegrating, collapsing, towards the non-existent core, crumpling ever tighter until- Heian winced as a supernova detonated right where Arael’s body was just a second ago. An impossible point of light, casting out whatever was left of the creature in all directions, vaporizing anything that remained. The researcher stared at the blinding angelic death-throes, letting out all the tension in her body as she slumped down onto the counter top again. Slowly, the pin-point of light dimmed away, revealing an expanding halo colored in a chromatic glow. 

Cheers of success erupted across the room as personnel of all kinds shot up and lept into the air. Whooping, shouts, sighs filled the bunker as everyone basked in the afterglow of the victory.

“Yes, Attention!” O5-6 boomed from the speakers, interrupting the triumphant mood. “A victory is worth celebrating. But before that, there are some disciplinary matters that need to be taken care of, Junior researcher Heian.” The former SCP 6079 project head shivered as she felt the Overseer's wrath turn towards her. “Despite my clear instructions, you broke the chain of command and took numerous crucial battlefield decisions into your own hands despite being brought on as a CONSULTANT! Taking today in the context of your previous disciplinary failures with classified documents, You are hereby-” 

“Wait!” A singular voice shattered the Overseer’s fury. “Something’s not right! Irantu, Onru, and Nanku, they still haven’t recovered after being transferred to their on-site bodies! They’re not getting up!” 

The entire room fell deathly silent, O5-6’s sucked in a breath, but did not speak again. 

……

Joriea Tallerin, former director of Site 47 stretched as she walked to her bedroom window. The late morning sun hung partway up the sky, coloring the heavens a vibrant blue. Being put on indefinite leave with half pay was certainly not ideal, but her current situation was at least an improvement over being locked up in a cramped cell for weeks on end. She had taken the time off to rest up, slowly regaining some semblance of normalcy since the trial with the ethics committee. 

She took a sip from her mug and sat down in front of her computer. In terms of actual work, there was not much to do these days, but she liked to keep up to date on her emails just in case something came up. She popped up the screen on the laptop and was surprised to see an urgent notification. Inputting her passwords, fingerprint and voice code authenticator, she clicked open the pop up, revealing a message from the Overseer Council. Her brows furrowed together as she scanned the words line by line. Firstly, the fifteenth angel had been successfully neutralized; however, during the conducting of this operation, there were several unspecified incidents that left three of the four supersoldiers of Tau 5 severely incapacitated. Tallerin frowned at the words “cancellation of all duties” and “moratorium for the foreseeable future.” There had been a council meeting directly after the events of the operation, in which it was decided that O5-6 would step away from running site 47. Tallerin would be fully reinstated as the site director effective immediately. She was expected to return to work tomorrow. 

The re-appointed director slumped back in the chair, her mouth slightly agape. Not only had the Overseers had removed one of their own from the position, but they had restored her to the position. While a Councillor being pulled from an assignment by the rest of the O5’s was rare, it had happened before. However, reinstating such a high level employee, who’s loyalty had been in question less than a month ago was completely unheard of. Whatever happened during that battle must have been pretty disastrous Tallerin realized. If they were bringing her back, it meant that the council was running low on options for staffing the site and fighting the angels. They were getting desperate, maybe they even needed someone else to take the fall, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to defeat the next one. Tallerin shivered at the thought. If the all powerful, all knowing O5 council was getting desperate, then this really was the beginning of the end.


	23. The Blood-Dimmed Tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armisael, the angel of the womb and the final archon, arrives at last. With it, comes the culmination of every plan that was set in motion long ago. Sent out on one final mission, Shinji doesn't know that another world is about to end.

The sun beat down relentlessly over the foothills as the blistering day crawled on. The trees stood still in the damp, muggy air. Everything was slow. The ground shook, sending several birds lazily fluttering from their nests. In the distance a towering giant languidly took another step. Its head was hung low, a permanent eyeless grin plastered on its mutilated snout. There were many gaps in its teeth and fresh scar tissue laced its bulbous head. Huge knots of healed flesh sprouted from its back, running all the way down the spine. The next thundering footfall brought the titan to the base of a high slope. Without stopping, the giant bent down, dug its massive fingers into the grassy soil, and began to climb. 

The sun rose ever higher as the titan finally crested the ridge and stood back up in its hunched gait. The hill had opened up onto a rounded summit offering a vantage point of the nearby landscape. Although the giant had no eyes, it methodically picked its head up and slowly scanned the horizon. The jaw lazily swung from right to left, searching like a radar dish. On the third pass, the head abruptly stopped just over its left shoulder. In the distance, contrasted against the sapphire horizon, was an object moving far faster than anything else in the restricting heat. 

The entity was shaped like a double helix, the two ends joined together into a ring. Dual strands of luminous white material wound around each other, up and down, forming a closed loop as the filaments curved. As the mamined titan silently observed, the curious shape sped past, gliding silently just above the tops of the highest trees. The giant tracked it, slowly moving its head back to the right until the strange entity disappeared from view again. Then the jagged, broken smile of the titan widened. 

……

_ 5 days before _

The containment dock housing SCP 6079 was abuzz with activity. Since the second reorganization of site administration, the SCP 6079 project had been hastily reactivated as a stopgap. It was expected that the sixteenth and final angel would be appearing any day, and with 75% of Tau 5 out of action as well as reluctance from the Overseers to provide any further assistance, Director Tallerin had made the decision to bring SCP 6079 out for one last battle. 

Researcher Heian sat at her work station in the armored overlook and reviewed the latest acquisitions. Her moment of tactical insight during the operation against Arael had not gone unnoticed, and many site personnel had begun requesting to be transferred to SCP 6079. An integral part of the reactivation had been a new shipment of ordnance from the eigenweapon division. In addition to a mobile version of the positron sniper rifle, there had been quite a few progressive melee weapons. The researcher looked out the window at the neat array of massive polearms, swords and axes that had been laid out at the feet of the recently restored cyborg. 

The door behind her buzzed and Heian turned back to see Captain Brigetson walk down the stairs. The security officer slowly sat down in a nearby seat, still wary of her recent injuries and looked at the researcher. 

“Still holding up alright?” Heian asked. 

“Yeah, I’m doing alright.” Brigetson answered. “I came here to talk to you about the next angel neutralization operation - whenever it happens.” Heian nodded. The captain pulled out a document and began to read. “As part of the reactivation of the SCP 6079 weaponization project, Junior Researcher Heian and Site Security Captain Brigetson will be assigned to head any future angel neutralization operations.” The captain looked up from the paper. “So, we’re going to have to manage this whole thing ourselves.”

Heian nodded. “I saw that too, which is why I’ve already formulated a course of action.” The junior researcher turned around and pulled up another file. Brigetson squinted at the distant monitor. There were maps, dozens of them; all with hastily drawn deployments and maneuvers. 

“I identified several locations that I think we could perform the operation.” Heian said. “Given our limited resources, we will need to lure the angel into one of these places where the terrain will favor us.” 

Brigetson slowly nodded in approval. “Wow...” She said quietly. “You-You’ve been doing a lot of preparation.” 

“I wanted to make sure we do this right.” The researcher said sternly. “We owe it to everyone, we need to see this thing through until the end.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Brigetson admitted. “We’re so close, we can’t slack off now.” She picked up her chair and scooted closer to the screen. “So, what do we know about the sixteenth angel?” Heian turned and pulled up another document. 

“Not much actually.” She sighed. “It looks like a double helix ring, like if you took a piece of DNA and attached the ends together.” The researcher clicked on an image of a hypothetical model. “The child said that it could transform into a single, cylindrical strand. It attacks by...infecting an organic target..somehow.” 

The guard captain frowned. “What do you mean by ‘infect’ ?” She cautiously asked.

“Well,” Heian replied, taking a deep breath. “The pilot described that the angel will approach its target at high speed, breaking through its defenses and burrowing into the flesh. Then it causes these vein like patterns to spread from the infected site before integrating its own biomass into the target’s, making mental contact and causing giant growths to-” 

“Ok, Ok, Ok, I think I get the picture.” Brigetson said. She shivered and made a ‘blegh’ sound. 

“I was thinking more along the lines of weaknesses.” She clarified. 

“Well, that’s the hard part.” Heian admitted. “They only defeated it the first time after one of the other pilots pulled the angel into their own unit and then activated the self-destruct.” 

Brigeton exhaled a heavy breath. “Soooo how are WE going to defeat it?” The Captain asked. Heian wrung her hands and sucked in a slow breath through clenched teeth. “I’m not sure….” She admitted. “According to the child, it was immune to kinetic projectiles, bladed weapons caused only superficial damage, and it seemed to be able to go through the AT field without any issues…” She paused and looked up. “I’m thinking of using the old reality anchor trick again.” 

The captain cocked an eyebrow. “Neutralize the AT field, then hit it as hard as we can?” 

“It’s worked every time so far.” Heian argued. “Plus, the alternative….the alternative would be to use Munru.” Brigetson blinked a few times in confusion. Heian pinched the bridge of her nose. “We would need to use Munru, in the same way they defeated the angel the first time, she would need to contain it in her AT field and then…”

Brigetson’s eyes went wide. “We canno-”

“No, of course we can’t.” Heian assured. “That’s why the reality anchor trick is our only option left.” Brigetson let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. “Clef would know far more about what to do.” She lamented.

Heian kept silent. At this point, aftering thinking about it over and over, she was pretty sure that Clef was still being kept alive. They were too valuable. They were too knowledgeable, and the Overseers needed that knowledge. Heian also had her suspicions that SCP 6079-1, the pilot, had some plans to rescue their beloved, but that was honestly more akin guessing. The junior researcher shook her head and pushed the speculation away. There would be time after the defeat of the sixteenth to sort all of that out. After all, if they were able to conduct this operation smoothly and without any hiccups, then maybe the O5’s would lend them some concessions as recognition for their work. Heian knew that the idea was far fetched, but that wasn’t the important part, she needed some motivation to keep going. Right now there was a tight schedule with apocalypse bearing down on them, after the end of this next mission they would have time to figure all of that stuff out.

Brigetson noticed the calculating look and her companion’s face and stood up. “Well, it looks like you have a lot on your plate right now, I won’t keep bothering you.” The security office slid her helmet back on. Heian looked at her friend.

“Where are you going?” She asked. 

“I got a shift in the lower basement levels.” Brigetson explained, securing the helmet strap around her chin. “Quite a few of the guards under my command are already down there.” 

“Basement?” Heian laughed. “You just got assigned to lead one of the most important missions in the Foundation’s history, and they still have you and your company looking after rusty pipes huh?” 

The captain simply shrugged and turned to the door. “They started some new operation down there about a month back. It's classified beyond me, but they have a whole sub level under lockdown.” Then she stepped out of the room and turned down the hall. Heian stared at the empty frame until the double doors slid shut again. Then she shrugged and turned back to her work. 

  
  


……

_ 5 days after _

Shinji shot up in his bed as alarms ripped through the air. In the month or so since the battle with Zeruel, he had gotten used to the absence of klaxons. The new management had cancelled any use of the Unit 01 and as a result angel neutralizations were no longer site wide emergencies. Shinji had heard from cafeteria rumors that they had apparently neutralized Arael their own way, but that the battle was costly. Whereas before, Tau 5 had been a team of four, he would now only see one supersoldier walking around the site. After that incident there had been more changes. The old site director was brought back, and Unit 01 was declared operational again. However, despite all that, Kaworu had not returned. Even with the massive increase in free time, Shinji still had not thought of any ideas on how to find out where he was being held, let alone planning a rescue. All in all, Shinji had really started to believe that he was growing numb, that the monotony and mundane misery of incarceration were finally taking hold, stripping him of any ability to feel heightened emotions. 

The first sound of the alarm proved that wrong. Shinji’s heart thundered in his ears as he leaped to change into his wrinkled Foundation plug suit. Terror coursed through him as the prospect of facing the sixteenth angel dragged up horrible memories. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to force the thoughts from his head as he pressed the button to evacuate all the air from within the sealed fabric. 

The door opened. 

“SCP 6079-1, its time.” the guard captain stood solemnly at the door. The third child turned.

“I-I,” Shinji’s voice was shaky, unsure, and cracking from the adrenaline. “I’m ready.” He finally spat out. The captain nodded and motioned to the hall. The activation procedure that followed was a blur. Chaotic crowds of people swirled around him as Shinji found himself back inside of Unit 01, standing on the grassy slope, and holding a large progressive polearm. His radio crackled to life.

“SCP 6079, we have added the location of the angel on your HUD.” Shinji recognized the voice as researcher Heian. He nodded and looked at the map. Armisael was quite a distance away and heading towards where he knew site 2000 was. Along the way there was a narrow valley that had also been marked. 

“Advanced teams are mining the combat area with reality anchors and conventional ordnance as we speak.” The researcher explained. “You have to lure the angel away from its straight line trajectory and into that valley. Munru will provide covering fire.” 

“I understand” Shinji nodded and turned towards the direction his map pointed. Lifting the front leg, the pilot reacclimated himself to the movements of the Evangelion, feeling the thud of its massive foot, adjusting to the weight of the giant weapon. 

“The angel is approximately thirty kilometers away, and moving fast.” Heian informed him. “You will need to hurry to make it to the valley in time.” Shinji nodded before crouching down in a sprinters stance. The pilot took a deep breath in, then forcibly exhaled the LCL. He imagined all the extraneous thoughts and worries flowing out of his head. His eyelids snapped open, and he lunged. 

The massive limbs of the Evangelion responded instantly, nerve impulses and bio-electric energy coursed through the titanic muscles, lifting the gargantuan cybernetic weapon off the ground and into a full sprint. A trail of dust exploded behind Unit 01 as its charge carried it through the thinly wooded slopes and into the distance. 

The sun baked the landscape around the thundering titan. Shinji plowed his way through the wilderness, crushing trees underfoot and occasionally glancing at the map. He was making good progress so far, Armisael was still quite a ways from the canyon and he was halfway there already. Munru kept up, flying on his left side a short distance away. The speakers buzzed. 

“Mining of the combat area is complete.” Heian notified him. “All that's left is to lure the angel there!” 

Shinji shouted an affirmative and rotated his map. The flashing dot marking Armisael’s location was less than five kilometers away. Sticking out his front leg, Shinji brought Unit 01 to a skidding halt, pivoting on its heels and swiveled his head to face the marker. Over the distant peaks he could even see that fast moving glow that signaled the angel’s presence. Shinji gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t be late again. With another colossal quake, he throttled the Evangelion towards the angel. 

Each footfall brought him closer, each pounding step against the earth was one second nearer to the end of this long nightmare. The vast halberd was heavy as it swung from side to side, carving through the air, just as it would soon carve through the angel. Shinji summited the next hill and finally saw Armisael’s body. It was a ring, just as he remembered, slowly rotating as it sped across the landscape. Without pausing, he created the ridge and charged across the open ground towards it. 

Armisael stopped. It didn’t slow down or decelerate, instead its forward momentum seemed to disappear in a fraction of a second without any shock or deformation. Shinji nearly stumbled as the jarring sight caught him off guard, but regained his footing and swung the halberd into place as his charge closed. The angel had definitely noticed him now, its double strands seamlessly merging into a single cord before shearing off in the middle. The pilot watched, almost mesmerized as the luminous filament unwound, curling itself to face the opponent, then at lightning speed, the angel struck. Shinji moved as fast as he could, slashing the halberd into the “head” on the angel with a vicious hash. Arterial spray coated the trees below as Armisael’s body was thrashed to the side. Shinji winced in anticipation, half expecting the same ear piercing scream he heard when he had cut it before. But Armisael was silent. The end of the angel whipped around like a snake, immediately coming in for another strike. Shinji ducked, rolling under the luminous strand as it buried itself into the ground. Springing back up, Shinji re-orientated his map. Armisael was in front of him, extracting itself from the dirt. The valley where the trap had been set was still to his right. Methodically Shinji began to sidestep, keeping his opponent's attention fixed onto him. The angel’s head darted, trying to find an opening, but each time Shinji knocked it back with a rapid jab from his polearm. He dared to glance behind him just as he parried another strike, sending another shower of crimson on the landscape below. The crucial arrow marking the destination was now at the center of his HUD. Pivoting back to his target, Shinji swung one last downstroke at the angel before turning around and taking off in a full sprint. The pilot didn’t even bother looking back to confirm that Armisael had taken the bait. He had turned his back, he had run. Even if the minds of the angels were fundamentally different from the Lilin, even if they did not understand human emotions, or feelings, Shinji was something it had been targeting, something it wanted, and he had just given up the fight. There was no way the angel would let him go now. 

The third child took deep breaths of LCL as the landscape rushed past. With any luck, he would outpace Armisael and make it to the valley in time. 

“The angel is gaining on you!” Heian called through the mic. Shinji frowned, he was already going as fast as he could, the shockwave from his sprint was flattening trees over a hundred meters on either side of him. 

“Providing cover fire.” Munru said. The sound of an autocannon burst erupted on Shinji’s left as several anti AT rounds found their mark before exploding a bright fireball. The pilot turned back just in time to see the angel falter, its front knocked off course by the shockwaves. He blinked. Armisael quickly recovered, the head coiled like a cobra, pointing squarely at his back. A shiver ran down Shinji’s spine as the pilot prayed that his unit move faster. 

“Firing again!” Munru shouted. Her weapon roared, but this time the angel easily dodged, elegantly weaving away from the shells, only to continue the pursuit a split second later. 

“We- we are reading a fourth AT field?! It’s closing in on the angel’s location!” Heian’s voice alerted him. Shinji’s heart skipped a beat. What was it now? It couldn’t be Foundation, another angel? No, that was impossible, Armisael was the final angel, unless… The idea exploded like an N2 mine in Shinji’s mind. He tried not to let himself hope but couldn’t stop his brain from inferring. Had Kaworu made it out?! Was he free from the Overseers and had come to take on the final battle together? He didn’t want to prematurely assume, but the more Shinji turned the idea over in his head, the more it made sense, who else could it be! For the first time in a long time, Shinji’s heart soared. He was going home! He was finally going home! He just needed to overcome this final challenge. Letting himself smile a little, the pilot ducked his head lower, pushing Unit 01 to even faster as his synchronization rate climbed. 

Hills and mountains became smears of color as another shockwave blasted out from behind Unit 01. A cone of fog condensed around the Eva as Shinji pushed the titan past the sound barrier.

“Valley is coming up straight ahead in a few kilometers.” Shinji glanced at the map. His own position was rapidly approaching the crucial dot, He had one more turn before he entered the blast zone. The hills rose around him, former grassy slopes became jagged stone walls as Unit 01 thundered forwards. Suddenly the rocks on his right cumbled, nearly sweeping the Evangelion off its feet. His eyes darted just in time to see Armisael swing its head into the wall a second time. The shockwave jolted through the stone, sending another landslide crashing down right in front of the Eva. Shinji jumped, leaping over the river of boulders and continuing his sprint. Up ahead the final corner appeared. He just had to round it and that was it. The third child gritted his teeth as the tight turn came ever closer. A millisecond before he crashed, Shinji stuck out his hands and projected the AT field at max power. There was a tremendous BANG! As Unit 01 ricochet off of its own barrier and into the second corridor. Unit 01 twisted itself in midair to face the new direction and landed, already in a sprint. Behind him, Armisael’s body whipped around the corner and continued the pursuit. 

Blood pounded in Shinji’s ears as the final stretch of his journey closed. He could see the disguised cache of reality anchors as well as the hundreds of explosives mounted on the walls. That was the blast area and he had to get past it. Turning around, Shinji threw his polearm as hard as he could, cutting a wide gash on Armisael’s glowing body. Then, as he swiveled back, the leading foot of Unit 01 crossed into the mouth of the valley. Shinji immediately activated his AT field, coiling it up beneath the next footfall. He felt the energy concentrate underneath, the intensifying light from his soul, the compression of the barrier under the Eva’s weight. Then he released.

Instantly Unit 01 was airborne, rocketing past the devices, bombs and mines that awaited Armisael; flying out of the danger zone, he glimpsed the head of the angel poking into the valley. It reared up, coiling to strike at its prey, the brightness of its body burning itself in the pilot’s memory. Then it lunged. PING! Shinji squeezed his eyes shut as a blinding flash filled the air and an ear splitting noise reverberated off the high walls of the canyon. Time slowed as he felt the sharp rocks crash into his chest and stomach. There was a sudden, hot stabbing pain in his back, before the world exploded. 

……

Researcher Heian held her breath as the mushroom cloud steadily bloomed into the sky. They had done it. The reality anchors had fired simultaneously. SCP 6079 was safe from the blast, and the angel had been squarely in the kill zone. It was almost perfect. Slowly, the ash and smoke dissipated to reveal the empty valley, now with a massive crater blown straight in its mouth. SCP 6079 was lying face down on the edge of the depression. Its armor was scratched, burnt, and bent, but the unit was intact overall. 

All around her a cheer went up in the room as technicians, researchers, and strategists began to congratulate themselves on the victory. Heian was just about to join them when something caught her eye. The plates on the weapon were not bent as she had initially thought, they were bulging from something underneath them. She squinted. A spasm rippled across the dorsal armor, then a luminous white tendril erupted from its back. 

Alarms in the war room reactivated as all sorts of alerts exploded across the screens again. 

“Target is NOT NEUTRALIZED! Repeat TARGET IS STILL ACTIVE!” Captain Brigetson shouted into a microphone. The room spun around Heian, blood rushed to her face, flushing it the same color as her eyes. That was it, their trump card, the result of so much planning and preparation, and they had been just a nanosecond too late. 

“Target is regenerating!” A voice shouted from across the room. “It has already grown back to 60% of its original mass!” Autocannon fire echoed through the speakers as Munru unleashed her entire arsenal on the renewed angel.

“Autocannon fire is ineffective.” The sole member of Tau 5 reported. Heian’s mouth went dry. There was only one option left. The choice she was most afraid of. Shakily, she bent down and activated her microphone. 

“Munru.” She began. “Remember the contingency I need you to-” She paused. To her right Captain Brigetson had suddenly received a call.

“What?!” Heian heard the Captain say. “No, of course not!” was the follow up. Then “Yes ma’am right away.” Brigetson hung up and turned to the junior researcher. 

“That was the Overseers.” She said. “I need to secure the basement immediately.” 

WHAT? Heian’s jaw hit the floor. Of all the things to do, why would the Overseers demand her to go to the sublevel now? If they didn’t get the situation under control, they were looking at a K class scenario. What was so important to take precedence over the literal apocalypse? Her mind raced. Why now? It was clearly because the mission had been a failure, but Heian knew from her accidental snooping that Lilith was held at site 2000, not here. But this had to be something related to the angels. What was in the basement? Containment cells were not in the sublevels that was for sure. It was mostly pipes and maintenance stuff down there, the only thing remotely connected to anomalies were the reality bender interview rooms. 

Heian’s eyes widened. What had Brigetson said about her assignment just a few days ago? “A new project had started down there about a month back.” The researcher quickly did the math in her head. That put the start date just after the fourteenth angel, and there was only one reality warping entity that had been detained by the Overseers at around that time. Heian snapped her head up as the pieces fell into place. 

“Command, could you repeat that last order?” Munru’s voice echoed through the speakers. “Are we activating the contingency plan?” Heian’s eyes darted to Brigetson who was already halfway across the room. She turned back to the mic and leaned in. 

“Negative, do not activate the contingency.” She announced. “Lay down as much fire as you can on the angel, try to keep it from taking over SCP 6079 for as long as possible.” 

“Affirmative.” Munru answered. Heian didn’t wait for anything else. Leaving her post, she dashed past all the stations and monitors, catching the captain just as she stepped outside the war room doors. 

“I know what's in the basement!” She cried, panting out of breath. Brigetson turned around. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. 

“Clef! They’re holding Alto Clef prisoner on the second sublevel! ” The researcher yelled. 

Brigetson’s let out a saddened sigh and looked down. 

“Heian…” She began. “Clef is dead, they died trying to fight the seventeenth-” 

“No!” Heian interrupted, shaking her head. “That’s not true! It’s a coverup!”

Brigetson tilted her head, unconvinced. “Ok, then what is the truth?” 

Heian took a deep breath. “This is going to sound absolutely insane, but Clef IS the seventeenth angel!”

Brigetson’s eyebrows scrunched up and she opened her mouth, before closing it, then opening it again. “That’s no-What does that even mean?!” She shouted exasperatedly at last. 

Heian took a deep breath. “Clef is the last angel, the seventeenth.” She began in a more subdued tone. “The difference is that they’re mostly human, unlike the others. Clef didn’t die, they betrayed the Overseers to save the pilot of SCP 6079. They were put into containment after the fourteenth angel was neutralized.” Brigetson was silent for a long moment as Heian finished her hasty explanation. 

“That still seems...how do you know any of this?” She probed. Heian grabbed her friend’s shoulder and began pulling the security officer towards the end of the hallway. 

“They told me.” Heian hastily answered.

“Wait, where are you taking me?” Brigetson cried as Heian dragged her down the hall. 

“We’re going to the basement.” Heian answered in a serious tone. “Because if I’m right and Clef is down there, then they’re the best chance we have at setting things right.” 

……

Pain. Agony. Shinji writhed on the ground as Armisael began to inject its tendrils into the flesh of Unit 01. Heaving out a laboured breath, the pilot flailed the Eva’s massive arms, trying to grab a hold of the angel above him. He had attempted to push himself up, but everytime the Evangelion rose, Armisale lashed out, slamming the cyborg back into the dirt. There was a rumble above him as Shinji felt another volley of Munru’s ordnance explode against the angel with little effect. Shinji reached for his shoulder pylon and retrieved a knife. Swinging it wildly, he felt the progressive blade bite into the angelic flesh and a splash of red splatter onto the cracked earth.

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Shinji’s stomach flipped as the angel let out an ear piercing wail in his voice. Swallowing the bile rising in his throat, the pilot lifted the knife for another strike but immediately dropped it. Inside the plug, Shinji clutched his arm and screamed into the LCL. The veins were spreading too fast, moving the right arm caused another wave of agony to run up his limbs. The slow, creeping sound of the angel’s bio-fusion process continued as more and more of its tissue merged together with Unit 01. Shinji looked down at his hands. The veins were covering his own body as well. In fact, he could even feel something wiggling its way inside his mind. It was a soft voice, a foreign presence. Unlike the warmth he had felt when synchronizing with Kaworu, this feeling was cold, icy, and completely alien. Shinji pulled in a ragged breath as pain and the accompanying presence dug deeper into his back, seeping into his chest. 

“Fourth AT source is closing in!” Shinji heard over the comms. Was Kaworu finally here? He thought. A spark of hope flashed inside of him. “Confirmed, the source is-” Shinji didn’t hear the end of the sentence before the entry plug faded away. 

The third child looked around. LCL surrounded him. This wasn’t the entry plug, instead Shinji found himself hovering above a large lake of watery ichor spreading out in all directions away from him. He cringed as the veins of the angel pulsed along his back. There was a figure in front of him, standing waist deep in the orange pool. With a start, Shinji realized that the figure was him, right down to the orange and black plugsuit he was wearing. The copy stared vacantly ahead, with a slight smile on its lips. 

“Y-you.” Shinji croaked out. 

“Yes, You.” The figure repeated. “I remember you.” A shiver crawled up the third child’s spine. The figure tilted its head.

“Fear...You are afraid…” It whispered. “I can see it in your heart.” Shinji swallowed. 

“I’m not afraid!” he shouted at the angel. 

“Anger,” The copy replied. “That is what is in your heart right now...but anger, sadness, those are not your true feelings.” 

“Wha-” Shinji started before he cried out again. The angel had begun to dig into his thoughts, his feelings, searching his soul. 

“You desire….to go home, to be with the one you love....” The pilot’s heart thundered in his chest. “You wish to be reunited with Tabris,” The angel continued. “You want peace, and companionship, to be free of this conflict.” A chilling smile spread across the lips of the copy. “I can free you from this struggle.” 

“No!” Shinji screamed. “No, let me go! Let me out!” 

“So much anger.” The angel cooed. “So much rage, be free of it, let yourself go, dissolve, the process has already begun.” 

The third child opened his mouth to respond, but let out a scream as the veins shot through the rest of him. Armisael was too fast, the tissue fusion was happening everywhere, Unit 01 wouldn’t remain intact for much longer, soon it would all be Armisael. Tears welled up in Shinji’s eyes. He didn’t know what would happen to him once Unit 01 had been completely consumed. Perhaps he would likewise be assimilated into the terrible glowing body as well. He opened his mouth to cry but no sound came out.

“Shhhh…” The angel whispered. “The fusion will be complete soon.” Shinji let out one last whimper. The world was already fading, the lake of LCL turning dim as his vision began to black out. He struggled, using every last bit of strength to keep himself conscious. 

Suddenly, another presence slipped into his mind. It was a raging whirlwind, blazing like a collapsing star.

“I finally found you.” An abrupt sneer cut through the silence. His mind snapped back. The cloying cold and darkness vanished as Shinji jolted awake. He was still inside the limbo created by the angel, but behind the copy of himself stood a tall figure wrapped in a deep azure robe. The angel was ensnared by a mass of tentacles that had wrapped around its waist and head, its neck exposed. Two crimson eyes blazed like twin suns from the newcomer’s obscured face. 

“If you want to merge so badly.” A growl escaped from beneath the cloak. “Then merge with me!” There was a flash of white, then arterial spray exploded as the figure sunk its fangs into the angel’s carotid. 

“AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” A soul rendering scream shook Shinji from his stupor. The third child clutched his chest. And his eyes darted around. He was back in the entry plug. Unit 01 was still face down in the valley. He suddenly jumped as a sensation coursed through his back. It felt like something was being pulled out of every vein and vessel in his body. The pilot started down in amazement, as the dreaded lines that had erupted across his body quickly vanished. He took a sudden breath as the massive weight of Armisael lifted off his back. Shinji grabbed the controls and pushed. 

The limbs of the Eva shuddered as they heaved the giant cyborg off its face. Shinji saw a blur of color as the view flipped. His eyes widened. Standing at the feet of Unit 01, was the mangled Sarkic evangelion. Its massive grin was wider than ever as it held the writhing form of Armisael in its hands. Reacting on instinct, Shinji scooted back, pushing up massive boulders as Unit 01 shuffled itself across the valley floor. 

The angel flailed, it's head swinging wildly from left to right, crashing into the walls of the canyon. Shinji brought his arms up as a shower of megaliths rained down. The maimed unit stood fast, its vise like grip drawing blood as it crushed the back end of the angel. 

“I have great gratitude for you sparing me during our last encounter.” Shinji heard the Karcist’s chilling voice echo in his mind. “Consider us even.” The snout of the sarkic unit split in a mighty roar before it slammed the back of the angel directly into its own core. 

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” The angel gave off one last high pitched scream before its luminous body was completely absorbed into the expanding sphere. Shinji stood up, shocked at the scene unfolding in front of him. The eyeless unit crashed down on its rear as its core swelled, ballooning wildly in all directions. 

“Command! We have...A situation!” Munru shouted over the comms. There was more autocannon fire as the last remaining member of Tau 5 unleashed another brust of fire at the Sarkic Eva. 

Shinji stood motionless as the chaos exploded around him. His gaze remained locked onto the unceasing smile that plastered the elongated head. 

“At last,” he heard the Karcist whisper in his mind “Apotheosis.”

……

Alarms rang out in the corridors and personnel scrambled around them as Heian and Brigetson made their way ever deeper into the facility. 

“So, let me get this straight.” The captain panted as they flew down another flight of stairs. 

“You got a lab test showing that Clef was an angel, and instead of contacting anyone else you just asked them?!”

“Yeah,” Heian admitted. “It...wasn’t the smartest thing, but I was afraid they had already taken control of the entire site!” The pair pushed past the next door, stumbling out into the sublevel. 

In front of them was an extensive security checkpoint several dozen layers deep. One of the guards saw the captain and walked over. 

“Captain!” The guard said, giving a short salute. “What’s going on out there?” 

Brigetson shook her head. “It..it’s a real mess, We’re...well we need to get into there.” She pointed straight ahead past the heavy security at the sealed door. The guard frowned. “Do you have permission from the Overseer-” 

“No, we don’t.” Heian interrupted. She quickly pushed Brigetson aside and looked the guard directly in the eyes. “But considering that there is an angel on the loose right now, our only hope of defeating it is through that gate!” The outburst echoed off the walls as several other security personnel turned towards them. 

The first soldier shifted uncomfortably. “This place is restricted by O5 order.” She said firmly, “I can’t let you in, even if you are with the captain.” 

Heian sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. “There is currently an impending K class scenario,” She began calmly. “Those alarms outside mean that unless we get the situation under control in the next twenty minutes, our entire species is going EXTINCT! The overseers have kept the identity of whatever is behind there a secret, but I’m telling you that through those doors, there is an extremely powerful reality bender that was formerly a Foundation agent who the Overseer’s have now seen fit to throw into a cell. They are the only one with the capability to prevent the end of the world as we know it, and unless we can talk to them now, none of us will be here in an HOUR!” Heian looked up to see that a sizable crowd of guards had gathered around them. A hand shot up in the back.

“If we, let you through, will that be a mutiny?”

Heian was about to open her mouth when Brigetson spoke. “Yes.” she said flatly. “You will be openly going in opposition of the Overseers and their orders, but considering that noise.” She paused to let the cacophony of the alarms sink in. “I think preventing the end of humanity is a greater calling.”

The hallway was silent for a moment before murmurs of agreement bubbled up from the crowd. Brigetson gave her companion a small wink as the group parted and began to deactivate the security systems. 

“Let the captain and the researcher through!” came the call from the station in front of them. The two of them took off into a jog as the massive armored doors slowly opened. 

Heian and Brigetson rushed through the opening bulkhead and found themselves inside a large room. They were on a walkway suspended several meters above the floor level with a short staircase leading to the ground. In the center of the room was a single, solitary, red, metal box. The walls of the crimson chamber were thickly armored and there were no windows on any of the faces. The two ran down the steps and quickly rounded to the front of the box. Heian’s eyes lit up as she saw a control panel embedded into the thick steel. 

“Password??” She mumbled as her eyes scrolled over the text on screen. “Do you know the-” Suddenly, Heian felt Brigetson grab her shoulder and push her aside. In a single smooth motion, the captain pulled out a gun and pressed the muzzle to the screen. 

An earspltting bang filled the air and Heian instinctively ducked. 

“There.” Brigetson said, reupholstering her pistol. “That should do it.” The researcher unfurled and started at the hole in the panel. From deep inside the locked chamber several clicks sounded out as the door slowly released. 

“How-?” Heian asked, baffled. 

“This is an interrogation cell, not a containment cell.” The captain explained. “After working here for as long as I have, there are certain….design oversights you learn about.” The two turned back to the front as the last bolt retracted and the heavy door swung outwards. Heian took a deep breath and poked her head into the frame. The inside of the space was dark, almost pitch black if not for the constant dim light of several reality anchors lining the walls. In the center was a small cot. Sitting in the center, directly facing the door, was a lanky figure with messy silver hair. 

“Clef!” Heian shouted. “We’re getting you out! The battle against the sixteenth angel, it went really wrong, It’s infecting SCP 6079, we don’t have any way to stop it!” The figure slowly lifted their head up and Heian blinked in shock to see their solemn expression. Their eyes were scarlet wells, filled to the brim with concern, and their left hand was placed over the bottom of their face, covering their mouth. Slowly, they shook their head. 

“No…” They trailed off. “It’s much worse than that.”

……

Shinji backed away as the mass production Evangelion convulsed again. Munru had completely exhausted her ammunition without even denting the core, and was also retreating from the shifting mass. The once pristine sphere was now a massive tumor like mass crushing down on the chest of the Evangelion.

“Reading massive Hume fluctuation from inside the target.” Shinji heard through the radio.. “I'm no longer seeing two separate AT fields!” Slowly, a dim glow began to emerge from inside the oversized organ. 

“I-” The operator stuttered as the light pulsed. “Massive energy spike! Get outta there!” Shinji’s eyes widened as the core shuddered one final time, before the organ ruptured. There was a disgusting sound of exploding flesh and a shower of viscera as the  _ thing _ inside the ruined Evangelion uncoiled itself. 

The pilot gasped as the newly born creature unfurled to its full height. The upper half of it was human, composed of the Karcist’s head and torso, enlarged to the proportions of an Eva and recast in the luminous, uniform flesh of the sixteenth angel. A massive mane of white hair rolled down its back as the creature extended its arms and flexed its new muscles. Everything below the waist was unchanged from the long, slender form of Armisael. It was a vast tail, slowly undulating in the air. The new creature pulled its head forwards and surveyed the landscape. Shinji shivered as the massive red eyes passed over Unit 01. Slowly, it opened its newly formed jaw, revealing a row of fangs and letting out a long, unearthly sigh. 

“I have borne an intolerable force, and have been remade.” An echoing, ethereal voice left its lips. “The archons and their machinations lie broken, their power captured inside me. I have done what has never been accomplished, not by any Karcist or Klavigar, not even by the Ozi̮rmok herself!” The words bounced off the stones and boulders, reverberating more than they should have. The reborn Seryaican closed her eyes and took a deep breath, throwing her head back. 

“The final step in the liberation of humanity begins now!” She declared, reaching a powerful pale arm into the sky. Her gaze locked onto Unit 01. “Having usurped the flesh of the archons, and made it my armor, I no longer require that trinket of yours to reclaim the powers of the Demiurge.” Shinji swallowed and shakily went for his knife. 

The Karcist’s gigantic eyes widened momentarily before she let out a burst of howling laughter. 

“Do not take me for some mindless angel!” She roared. Then, faster than Shinji could process, she struck. The pilot hadn’t even begun to move the arm before he felt a searing, stabbing pain in his stomach. Shinji cried out as Unit 01 dropped to its knees, the tail of the reborn Karcist impaling it through the abdomen. Slowly, Seryaican pulled her upper body to the faltering Eva and grabbed its chin.

“You are a brave warrior, especially for one so young.” She said. “Your tireless service has earned you a place in the new world that is to come.” Shinji opened his mouth, but could only gurgle LCL. “In repayment for the mercy you showed me, I will let you go.” The karcist withdrew her angel like tail, letting unit 01 slump to its hands. 

“I go to fulfill the destiny that was written when the stars were young, to birth a new world,” She turned away, giving Unit 01 one last look. “Be thankful that you are alive to witness it.” There was a titanic bang and then the Karcist was gone, leaving Shinji alone, gasping from pain as Unit 01 keeled over into the dirt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I̶t̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶u̶m̶b̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶,̶ ̶t̶u̶m̶b̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶,̶ ̶t̶u̶m̶b̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶.̶.̶.̶.̶


	24. A Promise Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karcist Seryaican has merged with Armisael and gained the full power of an angel. Now the Sarkic leader goes to Site 2000 to destroy Lilith and bring about her paradise. Far apart from one another, Kaworu and Shinji both race to stop ascended Karcist from destroying this world, and their way home.

Trees, hills, and mountain slopes sped past in a blur of color as the massive, luminous shape rocketed towards its destination. Seryaican, Ascended Karcist of the Black Moon, allowed herself to relish in the taste of victory. Although her previous form had been augmented and strengthened through centuries of tireless flesh crafting, it was still a weak and fragile vessel susceptible to injury and mutilation. The nearly fatal encounter with Bardiel, the archon of haze, had been a wakeup call, even with a body that was so much stronger than other humans, she was still nothing compared to the raw power of an angel. That was why she had embarked on this near suicidal mission to hunt the sixteenth archon, alone.

The Karcist lifted her left hand and flexed it. She vividly remembered the agony she felt as the titan had grabbed onto the rear of the archon and pulled it from its first victim. Thankfully the decades of studying esoteric secrets of the angels had paid off and she was able to not only resist the archon’s corrupting influence, but reverse it completely so that it was her mind and soul that would reign supreme in this new body.

Seryaican banked left, her whip like tail smashing apart the hillside as she swerved. She didn’t know the exact path to Site 2000 from this direction, but it didn’t matter. Angel blood now flowed through her body. She could hear the combined form of Lilith and Adam calling for their children to return. The Karcist gave a vicious smile. Who was she to deny them? Darting past the final bend, The angel-lilim hybrid burst out from the valley and into a wide open plain. She narrowed her eyes. So it seemed that the rumors were true. Tabris had indeed turned traitor against their masters. The vast field looked as if a nuclear bomb had been set off in its center. A giant crater, only half repaired, exposed the fortress of the Jailors that lay below. On the far end of the basin, several patches of grass shifted, revealing the last few operational missile batteries. Seryaican calmly watched as several laser targeting dots appeared on her skin. A series of small flashes erupted from the hillside, sending a volley of several dozen rockets skyward. The Karcist hovered, unmoving as the projectiles reached the zenith of their parabola and arced down in a screaming dive. A rapid series of explosions blanketed the canyon mouth as the missiles found their mark. The hillsides shook as distant trees bent and broke from the force of the blast. Then a pale arm shot out from the roiling smoke. Seryaican pulled forwards, out of the annoying smog and locked her gaze onto the launchers embedded in the mountains. Her eyes flared with two points of light and the opposite hillside was instantly flattened in a huge cruciform blast.

The Karcist smirked as she turned away from the Jailor’s ruined defenses. There was nothing left in her way. Shooting over to the gaping wound in the earth, she reared up, pulling her new body into a vertical strand, before diving into the gloom. 

Seryaican smashed through the facility, tunneling ever deeper into the Overseer's sanctum. She had no need for stairs or halls, her new bulk allowed her to effortlessly crush through several meters of hardened armored plating at a time. Walls shattered, floors crumpled, and supporting columns snapped as the luminous giant single mindedly plowed towards the bottom most floor. 

At this range, the call was louder than ever. Seryaican felt it like a craving, a deep biological need. She gritted her teeth. There would be no mercy for Demiurge. Its gasp on the fate of humanity would be broken, the chains of mortality would be smashed, and the Lilim would be free at last. The ascended Karcist broke through another floor and found herself in a wide circular chamber. The space was divided into four sections by a quartet of paths. Each of the sections held a massive tank. Seryaican pasused. Carefully, she lowered her huge head to gaze into the gloomy liquid. Bodies floated past, the meek vessels trembling as she passed her AT field over them. 

So this was where it had begun, the ancestors of every person living on this planet was grown in a massive glass vessel similar to this one. The Karcist closed her eyes momentarily in silent contemplation. This was the legacy she was here to transcend, this was clear evidence of their flawed and traumatic creation, their entire species born from the ashes of a slaughtered world.

Seryaican scowled and pulled back to her full height. No more distractions, the prize was so close. When an unearthly shout, the Karcist slammed a giant fist into the ground, shattering it completely. A chorus of cracking and grinding steel filled the air as the floor plating crumbled into the yawning void below. The karcist wasted no time and shot down, closely trailing the debris into the darkness. 

……

A stiff wind blew through the valley, string up clouds of dust. A massive purple fist closed around a mound of sand that was splattered with crimson. Sitting in the entry plug, tears pooled in Shinji’s eyes. It was over. He had failed just like he knew he would. The pain in his stomach was subsiding as the Evangelion’s accelerated regeneration slowly put the flesh together. However, the pilot was overwhelmed by agony of a different kind. “ _ Birth a new world…..” _ He turned the words over in his head. That was exactly what SEELE had wanted, exactly what his father had wanted. This was the end of the world. Another impact level event was well on its way, and Shinji had played right into it again. The third child dropped his controls and buried his hands in his face. He should just accept it, lay down and die. Despair clawed at his heart. Kaworu was not coming. There was no way he was going to make it home, he would die here, alone in the wilderness as his actions destroyed another world. Memories rose in his mind as tears flowed down his face. Some of them were from his old world and some of them were of the strange people he had met in this one. 

_ “You are more capable than you believe…”  _ An image of Kaworu surfaced. Shinji let out a whimper trying to hold the picture of the silver haired angel.  _ Sheets of rain poured down on the fifth child as he sat on Unit 01’s helmet _ . Kaworu had believed in him, he had put his faith in him…. Shinji bit back another sob. The angel’s warm smile burned brighter in his head. He gritted his teeth. He had already let down so many people in two worlds, he couldn’t do that again, not to Kaworu. The despair in his heart started to pull away. Slowly, Shinji brought his hands away from his face and grabbed the controls. Unit 01 groaned as it picked itself up from the dirt. The pilot wiped the tears from his eyes and looked down at his hands. He had to do this. Even if he didn’t believe in himself, someone else did. 

More memories flashed in his mind, happy ones. The shore of Lake Ashi where he first met the fifth. The warm feelings as he spent the afternoon with him. The joy of finding him again in this world. The laughter and happiness they shared over a meal. The sweet warmth of the angel’s kiss. Shinji sat up straighter and rolled his shoulders back, letting out a shaky breath. Throughout everything that had transpired, Shinji had never felt that he was worthy of such love, but the silver haired angel had freely given it to him anyway. Kaworu had shown him that he didn’t have to relegate himself to a selfish existence, but that he could live for someone else. Unit 01 lifted its head and took a single step forward. One step at a time, he told himself, pick up your weapon. The helmet of Unit 01 lifted, seeing the progressive polearm sticking out of the rocks past the mouth of the canyon. Unsteadily at first, then with increasing speed, Shinji strode over to it and grasped the cold steel, lifting it from the stone. He turned. The path of the Karcist was still visible, a nearly perfect line of flattened trees and destroyed vegetation stretching off past the horizon. He grasped the polearm tighter. 

Shinji still didn’t believe in himself, he still wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do to fix any of the mistakes of the past, and he still didn’t think that he could stop the Karcist. But to fulfill the wish Kaworu had for him, he had to try. A fire deep inside of his soul flared to life as Unit 01 threw its head back and let out a mighty roar. It’s AT field flared brighter than it ever had before as the titan slowly lifted off from the canyon floor. A final memory appeared in his mind. 

_ A dark day. Warm water. The hand of another on his.  _

_ “It means… I love you.”  _

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Shinji throttled the Evangelion forward at max power. There was no time to waste, he had a promise to fulfill.

……

Seryaican bared a jagged smile as the sea of LCL appeared from out the gloom below. She had ignored the massive skull so far because there was one last thing she needed to do before she could claim the power of the Demiurge. Her new senses told her that there was something buried at the very base of the head, something deadly and helical. A rush of air slammed into the metal platform, sending out a large circular wave in the lake of ichor. The Karcist pulled up, stopping her decent just above the steel island and locked her eyes on the gargantuan head. Buried in the vast boney chin, was a speck of deep crimson. The Karcist surged forwards, beating her massive tail through the air, she came to a stop just a few feet from the surface of the ivory. Lilith’s song was loud and clear inside of Seryaican’s head. The calling, beckoning, pleading tune that rang out from the otherwise inert bone. The Karcist pushed the voice out of her head. She had far more control over herself than the archons. The remnants of Lilin tissue within her was enough to dampen the otherwise overwhelming force. Arching her spine, the angel-lilin hybrid bent down to examine the red object. 

It was a spear, just like the legends said, made from two strands of bright crimson material. The dual ribbons were tightly wound, loosening as they neared the top, before spreading out into two long tines, the tips of which were impaled deep into the bone. With some hesitation, Seryaican lowered her now giant hand, and held it just above the comparatively small weapon. The lance trembled, sensing the progeny of Adam approach. The Karcist’s entire body shivered in a luminous wave as she felt a rush of energy course through her. Her smile widened. Reaching down, the flesh on her arm bulged and erupted into a mass of small tendrils that quickly warped themselves around the spear. With a slight tug, the weapon was pulled from its resting place in the pale bone. The karcist lifted her arm as the angelic tissue reconfigured back into the shape of a hand. There was a moment of silence as the Karcist stared quietly at her prize. Then the crimson ribbons jostled and the entire spear unwound. The tines began to widen rapidly, pulling the rest of the lance apart at the seam. Holding her hand away, Seryaican watched as the ribbons themselves started to grow, widening and lengthening to fill in the newly empty space as the prongs pulled themselves ever wider. The karcist adjusted her grasp as the weight of the growing weapon became apparent. Mass and energy, siphoned from someplace even Seryaican didn’t know, fueled the weapon as it filled out its shape, returning back to its original size. Methodically, the Karcist placed her other hand on the full sized lance and brandished in the air. This was it. The most powerful weapon against the archons was hers. Turning back to the skull, she gave it a sneer. This was it, the blind and foolish creator of a flawed and agonizing existence, would finally be dealt justice. Pulling the weapon to her side, the Karcist let her own energy flow into it. She would obliterate the entire skull with one strike, not a single cell of Lilith would remain. She raised the lance overhead and began to recite a prayer.

_ The wound, cut from the flesh of totality will be healed. _

_ Let the gods perish for the universe festers no longer. _

_ Our eternal vigil of ignorance has passed. _

_ Our dreams are now filled with the greatness that is to come. _

_ Our souls are flesh no longer, for we see the day we will be free.  _

Seryaican spoke the last words softly, It was time. With a shout, the giant, luminous being drove the lance downwards, towards the bone.

A blinding flash erupted right before the lance made contact with Lilith. There was a shockwave, and the Karcist was tossed back. Sailing through the air, the angle-lilin hybrid struggled to regain her balance. Seryaican gripped the spear tightly and threw her tail into a spin, the momentum carrying her upper body back into an upright position. She glided to a stop just over the back edge of the island. 

The Karcist snarled. No Foundation weapon could have done that to her. Above! Her senses screamed. The crimson eyes darted upwards. From out of the gloom, a single figure slowly descended. It was slender, with long limbs covered in smooth plates of interlocking armor. It’s body was dark with a long polearm held tightly in its left hand, and a glowing halo blazed above the strange horned helmet that sat atop its shoulders. Two eyes, bruning like twin suns, shone down from the inky heights.

The Karcist’s face twisted into a mask of rage as Unit 01 slowly touched down in the shallow orange sea. 

……

Shinji’s heart thundered in his ears as he felt the feet of the Evangelion finally land on solid ground again. The vast lake of LCL stretched out into the gloom, its waves lapping against the skull behind. Hovering squarely in the center of his vision was the phosphercent body of the monster the Karcist had become. His throat quivered as he saw the full sized spear of Longinus in her hand. 

“You just couldn’t see it could you.” She hissed, the eldritch voice echoing inside his skull. “Despite every hard fought battle, every sacrifice to hold the archons at bay, your infatuation with the seventeenth has blinded you to the necessity of what has to be done.” 

“Please.” Shinji said. “I don’t care about your war with the Foundation, or your plan to end the angels, I just want to go home with Kaworu!” 

“Your world is dead!” Seryaican howled. “It was brought to ruin by the archons and by the fools who could not see the light of the truth! It was maimed and mutilated by those who clung to their false scriptures and selfish desires! There is no future for us in the black moon! There is no future for us with Lilith! The path of humanity lies in transcending our creators, not by yielding our souls back onto them!” 

“But Kaworu doesn’t want any of that!” Shinji pleaded. “He doesn’t want to start another impact!” 

“And yet, your SEELE, the council of fools was able to manipulate the seventeenth into becoming a catalyst of their own plans.” The Sarkic scowled. “The spawn of Adam are incapable of true change, and as long as the fruit of life rests in their hands, the Lilin will never be free.” 

Seryaican rose higher, her tail coiling as she leveled the lance at Unit 01. “It is a tragedy to see that you have completely fallen to the corruption of the archons. I cannot allow you to take the seventeenth and potentially spread their influence across the multiverse.” The Karcist closed her eyes and let out a hollow, reverbarting breath. 

“I am truly sorry for what I have to do.” 

Shinji brought his halberd up, just as the Karcists eyes snapped open, emitting a brilliant flash.

The world turned white as Unit 01 was hit squarely in the chest by the cruciform blast. Shinji braced himself, feeling the heavy blow of the explosion slamming into him, tossing him into the air. He strained to bring his head back up, and momentarily locked eyes on his opponent. Two streaks of orange tinted light shot out from the horned helmet. 

A huge column of plasma erupted as the beams slammed into the Karcist’s torso. Unit 01 crashed down into the LCL, throwing up a huge wave of frothy spray. Groaning, Shinji propped himself up onto his elbows and rose to his feet. In the distance another geyser of LCL fell back down to reveal the Karcist’s glowing body. The mass of luminous tissue coiled as she whipped her head around, eyes aflame with rage. Shinji lowered his weapon and charged. 

Seryaican rose, shooting her upper body high into the air before diving down onto the charging Unit 01. Shinji swung the halberd as the pale, scarred face approached. A shower of sparks exploded as the megahertz progressive blade clashed against the eons old lance. The Karcist grinned, twisting her weapon and wrenching it over her shoulder. Shinji immediately pulled back, feeling the head of his polearm pull free before it could be thrown from his hands. Stepping back, the Eva braced itself and thrusted the spear. 

A shower of red coated Unit 01 as the progressive blade sank into the karcist’s unguarded abdomen. Shinji picked his head up to assess the damage and was immediately answered by the shock of a massive fist slamming into his face. The Evangelion reeled, stumbling backwards into the waves Shinji desperately stabilized himself. 

“It’s going to take a lot more than that to put me down.” The angel hybrid snarled as her wound quickly closed. Picking her spear back up, Seryaican countered, stabbing towards Unit 01’s chest. Shinji scrambled, bringing the halberd around as his synch ratio climbed even higher. The karcist’s face contorted into a grin. Shunting sideways at the last second, Seryaican threw her bulk into a spin, dodging Shinji’s parrying strike and smashing the haft across the Eva’s face. Pain exploded in Shinji’s jaw as he struggled to stay upright. Unit 01 had barely regained balance before another burst of sharp agony exploded in his abdomen. 

The Karcist heaved, leveraging the impaled Evangelion high into the air. The Eva’s head suddenly jerked upwards, two gleaming beams blasting out from its eyes. Another explosion flared into existence, knocking Seryaican back and throwing Unit 01 off of the weapon. The evangelion landed in the LCL as Shinji momentarily caught his breath and charged at the dazed Karcist. Seryaican’s eyes flashed as she saw the titan closing in. Shinji ducked, rolling underneath the beam as another plasma column erupted behind him. Springing back up he stabbed forward, catching the lance and deflecting it. He pulled back for another strike. But felt as a crushing grip closed around his wrist. Shinji jolted as the Karcist firmly caught his left arm. Her smile widened as she pulled her own weapon back, preparing to drive the lance straight through the Eva’s head. There was a flash of chromatic light and the Karcist reeled, a howl of pain escaping her lips. Shinji pulled the left arm back, letting the severed hand fall into the LCL. Angelic blood dripped from the blade of his halberd. Seryaican clutched her arm, the severed stub twitching. Shinji tightened his grip on the haft of his own weapon and swung. Suddenly the injured arm shot out, a gigantic mass of tendrils and tentacles erupted from the wound striking the Eva in the torso. Shinji stumbled as the bubbling mass of flash wrapped around him, tipping the Eva off balance and sending it to the ground. Seryaican was on him the blink of an eye, her tail wrapped around the Eva’s legs, the spear positioned right above his head. 

“A valiant effort.” She smirked. Shinji’s mind raced. His halberd was useless, his arms were bound to his side by the writhing mass of angelic tissue. Another blast of light shot out from Unit 01’s eyes. The Karcist tilted her head, easily dodging the blast. Shinji's stomach dropped. He was out of conventional weapons. However, Unit 01 still had one trick left. Opening his mouth to its widest, Shinji bit down on the tentacles as hard as he could. The Karcist screamed. Her grip loosened in shock, allowing just enough freedom for Shinji to move his arm. The sound of slicing flesh filled the air as he cleaved a massive gash on the flesh wrapping and clambered out from the grab. The angel hybrid pulled back, her broken tissue rapidly reintegrating into the rest of her luminous flesh. Shinji didn’t pause. Sweeping Unit 1’s leg, the pilot swung himself upright and lunged. The Karcist jabbed the lance in a counter, but the crimson tines missed Unit 01 by a hair. Shinji slammed into her, his weapon piercing completely through the glowing body. His left hand shot out, seizing the Karcist’s head and hammering the pale face into the Eva’s sharpened knee. Flesh tore and bones cracked as Shinji pulled his weapon back through his enemy, the wide blade nearly bisecting the Karcist entirely. Seeing his opportunity, the pilot intensified the onslaught, stabbing his blade into the closing wound and slicing again. Another spray of ichor darkened the LCL, just as Unit 01’s hand closed around the Karcist throat. With a scream, Shinji lifted the flailing hybrid into the air and threw its head into the floor. A tall geyser of LCL exploded as the Karcist’s skull made contact with the metal in a sickening crunch. Unit 01 arched its back and let out a roar into the darkness as the pale body limply floated in the waves subsided. Rage and bloodlust flowed through the entire limbic system of the Eva and Shinji let out a snarl in turn. Raising the halberd high overhead, Shinji took a deep breath and brought it down in a single mighty cleaving motion. 

There was a sudden flash of white, and Unit 01 stumbled as the Karcist’s tail seized him by the waist. Shinji’s heart leaped into his throat as he looked at his opponent. Slowly, the angel-lilin hybrid rose out of the bloodied liquid and unrolled her body. The pilot watched in terror as the debilitating wounds sealed across her luminous form, massive gashes that had almost cut the body in two were quickly knitted together. Panicking, Shinji swung his halberd directly at the regenerating neck. There was a heavy klunk as a pale arm easily caught the weapon just below the blade. A growl emanated from the colorless lips, and with a sudden spasm of powerful muscles, the head of the weapon snapped clean off. Slowly, the face tilted back up, the exposed bone and ragged muscle disappearing under new expanses of skin. Shinji let out a terrified breath as his own gaze locked onto her burning crimson eyes.

“You didn’t honestly think it would be that easy?” Seryaican sneered. 

……

Site 47 was already beginning lockdown procedures by the time Kaworu, Researcher Heian, and Captain Brigetson finally made their way up to the ground floor. Heavy shutters had already begun to descend over the outside windows as they sprinted towards the unstaffed entrance.

“The Karcist has done something to Armisael.” Kaworu said as they ran. “Whatever happened, the sixteenth isn’t a normal angel anymore” 

“So how do we stop it?” Heian asked. Kaworu bit his lip. “I’m not sure.”

Heian opened her mouth to ask another question just as a blaring loudspeaker made them cover their ears. “STOP!”

The three figures whipped around to look at the source of the noise. At the rear of the atrium, standing at the top of a set of stairs, was Site Director Tallerin. 

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” The megaphone blared another ear screeching sound as the director lowered it. Heian froze as Tallerin walked down the stairs and strode up to her. The junior researcher gulped as the older woman bent down and narrowed her eyes at Kaworu. 

“It seems that a certain doctor has returned from the dead.” She cocked an eyebrow, returning her gaze to Heian. 

“Ma’am,” The researcher sputtered. “I can explain, it-” The director held out a hand and stopped her. 

“Don’t.” The director said. “The site is going into lockdown, get to a designated safe location.” 

Heian’s jaw dropped. “With all due respect ma’am, we can’t just sit back and do nothing! If the situation is really that bad, then someone needs to get out there and stop whatever’s happening!” 

The director shook her head. “I’m not disagreeing with you. Our job is to protect humanity at whatever cost that may be.” 

“Then why are we not mobilizing our forces?!” Heian yelled. 

“You think a regular human being stands a chance against those monstrosities?” The site director countered. “I could throw every last person in this building at the angel and it would walk away without a scratch! ”

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The willingness to sacrifice is not the same thing as throwing our lives away. The Foundation didn’t survive this long by running headfirst into every monster that showed its face. If that Karcist has got even the Overseer’s running scared, then I would rather not bring that power upon any of my personnel. ‘Whatever the cost may be’ does not mean maximizing losses. We have lived where so many others have died, because we were strategic, we did what we could, and used what was available to the fullest extent, and right now, our greatest asset is them.” She gestured at Kaworu. The angel’s eyes lit up. 

“So...you knew…?” Heian’s eyes widened with realization. 

“To be honest, I’m still not quite sure what they are.” Tallerin said. “But I saw enough of the battle with the third angel to know that they’re not exactly an average person.” She placed a hand on Heian’s shoulder. “You got a good head on your shoulders kid, but right now, the most effective thing we can do is safeguard what we have.” Tallerin explained. “Whatever is happening outside, that’s their fight.” The older woman pointed a finger at Kaworu. 

The junior researcher slowly nodded.

“Now say your farewells,” The director's voice stiffened again. “We don’t have much time.” 

Captain Brigetson turned to the angel and stuck out a hand. “I’m not good with times like these.” She excused. “So uh, I guess you did a great service to the Foundation, and good luck on saving the world, give ‘em hell.” Kaworu nodded, firmly grasped the Captain’s hand, and shook it. 

“It’s been a pleasure working with you,” He said. “Take care of this place while I'm gone.” He smiled. 

The captain returned a grin. “Of course.” The angel nodded and turned to face Heian. 

“I am sorry about the way our last farewell ended, so I would like to amend my previous statement. You are a brilliant scientist, with great skills for deduction, a talent for seeing patterns, and a good friend. After this is all over, I hope that we will meet again.” Heian gave a genuine smile and shook Kaworu’s hand. 

“I wouldn’t have been able to do half the things in the last several months without your help.” She said. “I hope you and that pilot get to where you’re looking for.” 

Tallerin nodded as she stepped in between the angel and the researcher. “Alright,” she said. “Times up. Soldier, escort this researcher to safe room number five.” Brigetson gently tugged Heian’s sleeve. The junior researcher took one last look outside before the armored curtains closed completely and reluctantly turned, walking back towards the heavy blast doors. 

Kaworu watched the two site personnel turn a corner and looked back at the director. 

“Well, everything I wanted to say, has pretty much already been said.” The older woman observed. “But I guess I can give one piece of advice from my field agent days. Before you charge in, guns blazing, make sure you have back up.” She paused. “Unless you are the backup.” Kaworu gave a slow nod as he digested the words. “Good luck out there.” Tallerin concluded and shook his hand. 

“Until we meet again.” He said. Tallerin tilted her head up as Kaworu lifted himself off the ground and floated towards the door. 

“Indeed.” She sighed.

There was a slight rush of air as the sealed bulkhead was momentarily opened, then a muffled, reverberating bang, that quickly faded into the distance.

…….

The scenery was a blur as Kaworu flew faster than he had ever done before. The orange glow of his AT field reflected the bright midday sun as a sonic boom trailed him. It wasn’t hard to infer where the Karcist, Armisael, and Shinji had gone. Several minutes into his flight, Lilith’s call had suddenly spiked in intensity. Someone had removed the spear again. Kaworu wavered as the source of the incessant song got closer. It was getting difficult to focus his mind. For the first time in a long time, doubt began to creep into the angel’s heart. Was he strong enough to resist the call? Sure, he had made a promise, but did that mean anything when his mind was not his own? Would he be able to concentrate for long enough to use the power of Lilith to create another portal? Or would he just end up causing another impact? Kaworu twitched as a new sensation became apparent. 

No, it wasn’t just Lilith. He could feel a point of a great force, like a black hole, buried several kilometers underground. But in front of it, rather close in fact, was a point of lesser attraction, its pull was instead like a small planet in orbit around the dark abyss. A narrow valley opened up, cutting a wide gash into the rock. At the bottom of the canyon, Kaworu could sense the lesser source. The angel slowed down and lowered himself into the crevice. Maneuvering through the ruined canyon and past the upturned boulders, Kaworu burst into a wider gorge. The angel decelerated to a standstill as the scene of destruction revealed itself. There had been some kind of massive explosion, the crater of which was still smouldering. Large blood splatters dotted the ruined soil. Laying at the center of the crater, contorted into a twisted heap, was the Sarkic Evangelion unit. Even as the body of the dead titan lay cooling, Kaworu could still feel the latent energy emitting from the massive corpse. So it seemed that some huge calamity had indeed happened. The unit’s core had been completely blown out, leaving a gaping wound in its chest. Kaworu grimaced. Whatever the case, neither angel, cultist, or Unit 01 were anywhere to be seen. He needed to keep moving if he wanted to get to Shinji in time. The seventeenth was just about to take off again as an idea slipped into his mind. Kaworu stopped mid step and took a closer look at the corpse. Its core may have been gone, but its tissue was an exact copy of Adam’s. Landing next to the hulking body, the angel tentatively reached a hand towards the pale flesh. Kaworu cringed away, closing his eyes as the tip of his finger made contact with the skin. Nothing. No impact, no giant explosion, not even a small spark, and yet….Kaworu’s eyes snapped open. The call of Lilith...was it just his imagination, or had it really gotten softer? He carefully walked another step closer and laid his whole arm across the still warm flesh. A gleam lit up the scarlet eyes. The song that had been ever present, the unceasing desire that was drawing him in, had suddenly shrunk. It wasn’t completely gone, but the urge to follow it had lessened. In its place, there was a satisfied contentment. A sense that he was where he belonged. The seventeenth pulled his arm away, feeling the craving flow back. 

It made a certain amount of sense, the Sarkic unit was, in effect, a massive, inert lump of Adam’s flesh. Making contact with it genetically identical to making contact with Adam itself. It seemed that Kaworu’s angelic biology didn’t care much to differentiate between the two. The urge to reunite with a seed of life could be silenced by reuniting with a clone. Kaworu’s eyebrows knitted together. Why hadn’t he noticed this before? For the brief window of time when he was the pilot of Unit 02, the Eva still possessed a soul of its own. Even if it had shut itself away, it was an independent living creature that couldn’t satiate his angelic physiology. On the other hand, the dusty skeletons he and Shinji had used in terminal dogma were far too old and decayed, with no real biological activity left, they could only be puppeted in a rough approximation of a living being. Kaworu turned back to the body. Without a core, there was no way he could synchronize and pilot it, and without another person, he couldn’t take the place of the core like he had done with the old bones. 

Kaworu’s scowl deepeded. There was one last thing that he could do. Kaworu had the soul of Adam. In fact, it wouldn’t be completely inaccurate to say that he had once been Adam in a previous life. The Sarkic Evangelion was a clone of Adam, its tissue possessing the same genetic structure as the first angel. These two components had once existed together as a singular being for billions of years, was it so inconceivable that they could do so again? 

Kaworu turned the idea over in his head. This was unprecedented territory, he didn’t know what the consequences of trying this would be. Would he cause another extinction? Would everything that made him unique be wiped away as Adam was reborn? Would anything happen at all? There was a strong likelihood that he would just end up sitting inside the giant corpse for a few minutes straining himself to no effect. Kaworu tried to dismiss the idea but found that he couldn’t. If he tried to re-enter Site 2000 without some sort of insurance, the chances of accidentally giving into his instincts and merging with Lilith were too high. Even if he managed to hold off the urge and the call, he would still be fighting at diminished strength against a foe that had proven herself capable of somehow stealing the powers of one of his strongest siblings. Kaworu looked up from his contemplation. He had no time left, it was now or never. Site Director Tallerin’s words surfaced in his mind.

_ Before you go in guns blazing, make sure you have back up. Unless you are the back up. _

Kaworu’s eyes were alight with new determination. He had made a promise. A promise to be Shinji’s back up. The seventeenth angel lifted himself onto the twisted spine and walked over to the mass of knotted flesh, right where an entry plug would have been on a normal Eva. There was an orange flash and Kaworu stood back as the scar tissue slumped away from his incision. A dark, bloody tunnel opened up, directly into the spinal column. Kaworu bit back a dry heave as the Lilin parts of his biology reacted violently to the stench. The seventeenth angel closed his eyes, trying to slice the nausea. 

_ He had to be at Shinji’s side. He made a promise to Shinji. He was Shinji’s back up, and this was his gun.  _

Kaworu lifted his front foot, hovering over the gory pit for a second, before he jumped in. 

The angel slid down the fleshy tunnel before his feet landed on the hard, boney spine. Holding back another wave of nausea, Kaworu pushed his arms deep into the soft yielding flesh of the Eva. His face contorted as the final angel expanded his AT field to encompass the entire body of titan. He took a deep breath of the bloody air. 

The body responded, the flesh of Adam instantly bending to Kaworu’s will. Life flowed back into the veins as cells restarted their biological processes. The body rippled around the angel with muscles spasming, returning from the dead. Kaworu projected his energy to every extremity of the resurrected body. A single, unspoken phrase passed from the revived flesh, back to the angel’s mind:

**_“Welcome home.”_ **

Slowly, with trembling arms and legs, the broken body of the titan rose from the valley floor. Wounds, gashes, twisted and shattered bone realigned and seamlessly rejoined as the body began to glow. The pink, red, and maroon patches of flesh disappeared as a blinding silvery light consumed the entire body. Deep inside the spinal column, Kaworu felt the barrier between his own body and the titan slowly dissolving. This was it, his old form would be subsumed, this was the return to the beginning. A howling wind screeched as the radiant energy of the titan superheated the air, throwing the atmosphere above into chaos. The power emanating from the awakened being continued to rise, crumbling the walls of the canyon and incinerating nearby trees. Kaworu took one last breath into his lilin body, before the glowing tissue subsumed him entirely. 

The massive body continued to metamorphosize as it rose into the air. Its head was no longer an eyeless snout, but had become a rounded face, with two dark, deepset, eyes. Massive shoulder pylons erupted from its back as a dark sphere emerged out of its chest. The space around it distorted and earth below shook, heralding the appearance of an anti-AT field. A deep, resonating rumble left the giant. Suddenly, four long, transparent appendages sprouted from its back, unfolding high into the heavens above. There was a massive convulsion in the firmament as Adam was reborn. 

…….

Light, brightness. The soul was aware of an all consuming immutable radiance that engulfed it. It relaxed, this was familiar, this felt right. It hadn’t felt this way in a long time. There was comfort in the great blinding void where nothing else existed. The soul was mildly aware of the physical world beyond the blank space, and the destruction that was being wrought upon it. However, the fragile existence of lilin life seemed so far beneath it right now. There was a tingle at the back of its mind. It….It had forgotten something...It’s purpose? The soul paused. What was its purpose? The flesh in its body answered.

**_“You are a seed of life.”_ ** It’s body said.  **_“You are to bring about a new world, reclaim it from the Lilin that have usurped it from you.”_ **

The soul nodded to itself. That….that seemed correct, it definitely remembered a time similar to this, when it had awakened to carry out a similar function. It let the concern pass from its mind and expanded it’s anti-AT field. The barrier of energy blossomed, shooting out in all directions, enveloping air, stone, sand, a- 

Pain. The soul recoiled as a sharp, unpleasant sensation pierced its awareness. It halted, the sphere of energy grinding to a stand still. What was this pain? It certainly wasn’t pain from its own body for the flesh had not cried out. And yet, the mind felt the agonizing presence linger. Was...was this the pain of another? The pain from another soul? The pain of the Lilin? Doubt reentered. Why was it capable of feeling this? Why was it bothered so much? Why did it care about the fate of some small creature descended from the black moon? Unsettled, the mind searched its memories, focusing on the previous experience. 

It remembered the wind howling around it. There was pain as well, both from the lilin and its own body as it went for the surface. There was a sundering of the world, awareness of great injury, bodily death, and understanding that it had failed. Revelation struck the soul as it pulled itself from the past. That had been its old purpose, but it had failed. It had become a new being after that, with a new purpose. What was that purpose? 

**_“You are an angel.”_ ** Its body responded again.  **_“You are a child of Adam, the last of his offspring. Your purpose is to return to your creator in order to finish what he began.”_ **

****

Relief washed over the soul. That was closer to what he knew. And for a second it was satisfied. Then doubt returned, faster than before. If it’s purpose was to return to its creator, then why could it not hear the song calling it home? Why didn’t it feel any urge within? The mind dived back into its recollections. 

It remembered rooms, people, lilim around it. The memory was longer this time, with years passing slowly as its new body grew. No longer was it a radiant being, but now it’s form was indistinguishable from the LCL based creatures that surrounded it. Monotony settled in, the days merging together until the moment finally arrived. A rapid succession of events flashed through its mind. Intention, deception, infiltration, betrayal, combat, victory, and then….defeat. Understanding struck the soul. It too had been deceived, its purpose of reunification was a futile quest that ended in the loss of its body again. Another dead end. It had to have a purpose! It’s emotions were becoming agitated. The soul could now remember that it hadn’t always been in this blank void, so why was it here now? What had led it to its current location? What was it’s purpose?

**_“You are a Foundation agent.”_** Its body explained. **_“You are a servant of the jailors, a soldier who carries out their will to safeguard the world they built.”_**

The soul disagreed. It had already looked through the memories this time. There had been another betrayal, another battle. Four spears fell towards its body from armored giants. it had gone against the jailors, it had abandoned their designs for something else. The mind stopped. What was that something else? Why had it forsaken its orders? The mind looked deep, paring away all the extraneous information, ignoring the cries of its body, until it came across something at the core of all of its memories. It was a face, a face with dark hair and gentle blue eyes. Passing over the fragment of memory, it could feel a through line, a continuity of this individual throughout all of the events it had recalled. The soul finally smiled, this was where it would find its purpose. Then, without a moment of hesitation, it firmly grasped the image in its, and pulled. 

  
  


The wind died down as the giant of light paused in its ascension, The ruined trees bowed back, suddenly free of the oppressive force that had crushed them into the ground. The anti-AT field vanished, its eldritch energies siphoned back into the body it had come from. Slowly, the distortions in space disappeared too as the body of the titan morphed again. The shoulder pylons shrank, smoothing out into the flesh of the back. The waist and legs were reshaped, the musculature and shape becoming more human. A neck extended out from under the head as pale hair sprouted above a rapidly changing face. The tempest of energy and destruction vanished entirely as Kaworu Nagisa reopened his eyes.

…….

A series of explosions lit up the cavernous depths of Site 2000 as Unit 01 was thrown back onto the metal island with a clang. Shinji groaned with pain as he propped the torso up, only to see the Karcist’s tail hammer into his chest. A concussive force exploded across his body moments before a powerful fist closed around his neck. The scream died in his throat as the face of the Karcist came back into view. 

“Thus is the fate of all those who side with the archons.” She declared. Shinji balled up the Eva’s right fist and smashed the Karcist across the face. The choke loosened and his enemy fell back, her tail whipping through the air. Getting back to his feet, Shinji readed Unit 01 for another attack just as the Karcist recovered. 

“It’s a shame.” She lamented, raising the lance into an attack position. “I wish that you would have chosen bett-”

Seryaican’s body suddenly spasmed, the Karcist immediately clutching her head in pain. “No..” she whispered. “Tabris! You-” Her gaze turned back to Shinji just as Unit 01 unleashed another beam from its eyes. The attack exploded directly in the angel hybrid’s face, launching her luminous body through the air. The Karcist tumbled in a wide parabola before stabilizing her descent far out into the LCL sea. Seryaican rose up with blazing fury in her eyes.

“You….” She seethed, pointing the lance directly at Unit 01. “You knew…!” 

“What?!” Shinji shouted back. “What do I know?!” The Karcist’s lips cracked open and she slowly let out a dry laugh. 

“Tabris…of course it was Tabris… can you not feel what your ‘beloved’ has done?!” The last words changed into a scream of anger as they echoed off the distant walls. Shinji brought the Eva’s fists up in a boxing stance as Seryaican’s eyes narrowed. 

“This...this was all a distraction.” She snarled. “You’re trying to keep me occupied until  _ it _ arrives!” 

Shinji opened his mouth to retort but was cut off as the Karcist let out another scream. “It doesn’t matter!” She spat. “You won’t live to see it!” There was a blur of radiant white energy, and the Karcist was upon him. Shinji had barely begun to move his arm when a massive claw closed around his face, driving Unit 01 into the ground. The pilot felt his head bounce off the ground in a shot of agony, before another unbreakable grip closed around his leg. There was a flash of red then a burst of agonizing pain blasted through his body. The Karcist lifted her arm and tossed the severed limb back over her shoulder before driving the spear straight through the Eva’s left shoulder. A beam of light erupted from Unit 01’s eyes, but Seryaican weaved right, and wrenched the haft of the lance. There was an earsplitting crack as armor, bones and flesh splintered under the spear. 

Shinji screamed in pain, spitting a stream of bubbles into the LCL. He desperately tried to blink away the tears, straining to look at his enemy. With the last of his strength, the pilot curled the Eva’s remaining arm into fist and launched it at the angel hybrid. The Karcist smirked. In one smooth motion, she whipped the spear out of the ruined shoulder and thrusted it at the rushing fist. A sickening slicing sound filled the air as a cleanly separated forearm sailed past Seryaican’s face, and splashed into the liquid far away. 

Unit 01 collapsed. The halo over its head fading away. The massive muscles were completely spent, and the injuries were too numerous. Letting out a sigh of relief, the Karcist floated, pulled herself away from the dying Eva and readied the spear in her hands. Inside the entry plug, Shinji closed his eyes as tears drifted into the LCL, there was nothing he could do. The lance descended, and for a moment Shinji wondered if this was what Asuka had felt.

An shower of orange yellow light exploded. Shinji’s eyes fluttered open in surprise as he felt a warm, comforting presence pass over his body. Above him, the lance had been intercepted, blocked by a shield made of four wings, rendered in blazing orange light. The Karcist’s face wore an expression Shinji had never seen on her and it took him a second to realize that it was fear. A pale fist appeared from out of his view, cracking the Karcist squarely in the head and sending the angel hybrid reeling. Painfully, Shinji sat up and desperately turned Unit 01’s head to look at the newcomer. His eyes widened as the face of his savior came into view. 

“Shinji! Are you alright?!” The giant was cradling Unit 01, its hands holding the Eva’s head.

“Kaworu..? Is that really you?!” Shinji’s heart leaped. Tears welled up in the angel’s eyes as a smile came over his face.

“I’m here Shinji! I’m here!” He cried, pulling Unit 01’s head into his own shoulder.

“I… I couldn’t find you…” Shinji mumbled as he let Kaworu’s warm, comforting presence wash over him. 

“It’s ok.” The angel said, passing his hands over the broken body of Unit 01. “We’re going home.” 

Shinji breathed in a lungful of fresh LCL as he felt Unit 01 roar back to life. All over its body, new growths of tissue erupted to replace the lost limbs and heavy damage. Rising back to his full height Shinji looked Kaworu’s new body in the eyes. 

“I….I….” He stuttered. The angel put a finger up to his lips.

“Don’t force yourself.” He said. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk when this is all over.” 

A new look of determination washed over the pilot's face and he nodded. Then the two of them turned around to face their enemy together. 


	25. Judgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle, the end of an era, the clashing of two worlds, and the unbreakable bond between a human and an angel.

Orange waves broke at the base of the mountainous skull. LCL splashed up onto the chin, darkening the pristine ivory. Facing the remains of Lilith, the Karcist carefully seized up her opponents. 

“So.” She said. “It’s true then, Tabris has abandoned its humanity to revert back to its true form,  _ Adam El Asem _ , the first archon.”

Kaworu took a step forward, his new body blazing brightly. “I’m not abandoning humanity, I’m keeping a promise to someone who I love. If I have learned anything about the lilin, it is that the bonds between people are the most human things that exist.” 

The serpentine being let out an angry huff. “All I see is an archon who has hoarded even more power just to crush someone who would oppose them.” Her eyes narrowed as she pointed the Lance of Longinus directly at Kaworu’s chest. “You could never conceive that the fruit of life would be taken from your possession, you archons cannot imagine a different world, one where the lilin are your equals!”

“That’s not true!” Shinji cried. “Kaworu is a person! Him and I are equals!” 

“And what of the betrayals?!” Seryaican roared. “Are you so quick to forget how they used your trust and affection to nearly wipe out your entire world?!” 

Shinji turned to look at Kaworu. “He...he has shown me so many times since then, that he has genuinely changed. He made a promise to me, and he’s kept it.” Shinji managed a genuine smile. “I forgive him.” 

Seryaican grimaced as Kaworu beamed a warm grin back at Unit 01. 

“Well I don’t.” She growled, gripping the spear with both hands. “Since you seem so adamant to protect the skull, then you two will die together!” The Karcist shot into the air, whipped her tail around, and dove towards her enemies. 

Shinji lept aside as Seryaican slammed down between them, spinning the spear in a wide arc around her body. Unit 01 had barely landed before the angel-like tail shot out. The pilot instinctually made a grab for it, his hands closing around the deadly appendage before it dug into his chest. 

The Karcist grinned as gnarled veins instantly exploded across Unit 01’s hands. But Shinji was prepared. There was a blur of motion and a porgressive knife blade sunk deep into the luminous stinger. Seryaican stifled a scream and thrusted her spear in a counter attack. Shinji ducked, slamming the blade of his knife against the joint where the tines met. The karcist twisted, whipping the dagger from Unit 01’s grip and flinging it into the LCL. Her eyes lit up as she pulled back for another attack. A crack filled the air and Seryaican’s head was suddenly slammed into the orange ichor as Kaworu tackled the hovering angel hybrid from behind. The Karcist flipped herself over and stabbed wildly at her new attacker, trying to dig into the flesh of the first angel. 

Kaworu quickly blocked the flurry of strikes. His new wings arched over, and intercepted each thrust of the spear. There was pain, but the puncture wounds in these ethereal extremities were easily healed, unlike a spear wound directly in his flesh. The angel weaved out of the way of another grazing strike and pulled his fist back. Seryaican’s body jolted as the pale head was cracked into the metal floor beneath the LCL. Kaworu wound his arm back for another punch but was met with a searing light, a cruciform explosion shooting out from the hybrid’s eyes, and throwing him backwards. Seryican regained her posture in a flash but was quickly sent flying as Unit 01 barreled into her, planting a kick directly against her stomach. There was a splash as the karcist crashed down on her back. She groaned, wiping her eyes of the cloying ichor. Her vision cleared and she immediately reached for the lance. Gripping it horizontally, she turned around just in time to block the Eva’s next attack. Unit 01 crashed down, hands locking onto hers and jaws chomping onto the helical haft. The karcist bared her fangs, straining her musculature to shake the cyborg. Light exploded in her face as Unit 01’s eyes shot out an explosion of their own. Seryaican desperately focused her AT field and cringed as the withering heat exploded just inches from her face. The Karcist bucked her tail, slamming into the eva from below and flinging it into the distance. With increasing frustration, Seryaican reared herself up and frantically searched for her enemies. Her gaze locked onto Kaworu and she quickly brought up her barrier, bracing herself as a beam from the first angel shot straight towards her. She surged forwards as the light died down, stabbing her weapon at the angel’s legs.

Kaworu side stepped, letting the Karcist’s strike slam into the ground with a sharp clang. Seryaican’s eyes narrowed and she immediately spun, swirling the rear end of the spear around. Kaworu was prepared and grabbed the haft as it hurtled towards his face. The Karcist’s whole body jolted as her follow through was interrupted. The angel wrenched his grip and shot another eye blast into the hybrid’s back. A concentrated AT field blossomed just in time to catch the explosion, but it was a feint. Kaworu’s fist made contact with her unguarded skull in a colossal thwack. Seryaican was thrown forwards, her vise like grip on the Lance yanking it straight from Kaworu’s grip. She whipped around, ready to impale her attacker, right as Unit 01 landed on her back. The pair crashed to the floor, shooting up a giant geyser as Shinji wrapped the Eva’s limbs tightly around Seryaican’s torso. Erupting from the LCL in a massive plume, the Karcist thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge the Eva from its dorsal grip. Shinji held firm and reared his head up before swinging it down in a vicious bite. The angel hybrid gave a shout of pain and raised her spear to impale the nuisance on her back. There was a blur of pale flesh and Seryaican lurched forwards as Kaworu wrapped his hands around the tines. 

“Get o-off!” The Seryaican hissed, balling her other arm into a fist. Kaworu folded his wings, and deflected the punch with a flash of orange.

“Shinji!” The angel shouted. “The Spear! Grab the spear!” 

Shinji nodded. Pulling Unit 01’s left elbow into a tight choke around the Karcist’s neck, the pilot shoved the right hand control. The purple fist shot out, clamping down around the helical haft, just behind Seryacian’s own grip.

“No!” The hybrid bellowed, desperately clawing at Unit 01 with her free arm.

Shinji gritted his teeth as he felt the Karcist’s talons rake across the composite helmet of the Eva. He clenched the elbow even tighter. 

Pain suddenly exploded over his left forearm. The Karcist’s tail had shot up and gripped his limb. The pilot watched in pain and horror as the powerful trunk wrenched his arm off of Seryaican’s throat. Then, faster than he could see, the appendage had snaked its way up his arm and coiled around his waist. The pilot gasped as the world lurched and the Eva’ was thrown high into the air. 

Seryaican turned back with a vicious smile on her face only to see Kaworu’s eyes start to glow. Seryaican winced, bolstering the barrier in front of her face and torso. The angel’s gaze reached a blinding flash, just as he looked down. 

A huge cross of plasma exploded around the Karcist’s hand. A scream of pain came from inside the fireball, followed quickly by a long crimson object. 

The smoke cleared, revealing Seryaican clenching a ruined forearm. The torn musculature spasmed, refroming into a new hand that shot out at Kaworu’s face. A reverberating bang echoed as the Karcist’s palm slammed into an AT field. The angel’s eyes twitched and the barrier expanded, throwing the hybrid back. Taking the opportunity, Kaworu’s wings unfolded and he tore away from the stunned karcist, rocketing towards the landing place of the spear. 

The first angel swooped down as the spear came into view. Reaching a hand down, he skimmed it through the LCL, fingers closing around the helical strands. With a burst of orange froth, Kaworu lifted the weapon out from the liquid as his wings extended, carrying him higher into the air. 

“NOOO!” A sudden cry of rage echoed from behind and Kaworu felt a heavy force slam into his back. 

Burning pain shot into his spine as the Karcist dug her angel-like tail into Kaworu’s flesh. His wings jolted, folding in as the two plunged back to the ground. The writhing mass of pale flesh slammed into the platform, ricocheted off the ground, plunged into the LCL, and finally slid to a stop right at the base of the skull. Kaworu heaved the lance, shoving the Karcist off and fired another beam from his eyes. An AT field reverberated from underneath the blinding purple flash. There was a shout of anger from behind the roiling energy, then a tail shot out from the flames, impaling the first angel through the stomach. Kaworu cried in pain, his wings instantly swooped down, cleaving clean through his attacker. There was a spray of blood and another scream. Kaworu stood up just in time to see Seryaican leap at him, claws clamping down around his throat, the hybrid’s momentum sending him to the floor.

The Karcist bared her fangs, feeling the first angels neck in her grip. She throttled Kaworu’s head, slamming it against the floor. The angel's eyes looked to her face as she lifted his head up for another blow, then his gaze darted behind her. His eyebrows lifted, as if signalling to someone, and he threw the spear. The hybrid’s vision followed the angel’s, turning around just in time to see Unit 01 barreling down on her. Seryaican threw out her arm, a series of glowing octagons blooming into existence. 

Unit 01 didn’t slow down. Instead, the Eva reached out, caught the flying spear in its left hand and hurled it back in the direction it had come from. Seryaican’s eyes widened in shock as she realized the magnitude of her error. Lifting her head, she desperately tried to take off, but it was too late. There was a short tearing sound as the lance ripped through her AT field, quickly followed by a wet bursting noise. The hybrid let out a sudden gasp and slumped backwards, the tines of the spear protruding between her shoulder blades. 

Kaworu pushed himself back as the impaled karcist fell, the points of the spear piercing into the floor. On the other side, Shinji let out a sigh and let the Eva’s shoulders fall. Kaworu slowly stood up.

“We did it.” He said, smiling at Unit 01. Between them, the angel-lilin hybrid managed an agonized snarl. 

“You….” She coughed a spurt of blood. Her eyes wandered, before suddenly focusing onto the skull of Lilith. Her gaze tightened and Shinji watched her vision dart quickly from Kaworu, back to the massive skull. Then a fiery spite filled her eyes “You...are finished!” With one last, impossible burst of strength, the Karcist shunted her body off the spear and launched herself at the first angel. Kaworu’s eyes went wide as Seryaican’s broken body slammed into him, sending the two of them crashing straight into the skull. 

The bone rippled like water as the two luminous beings made contact with the remains. A wave spread out as the tissue of Lilith parted, recognizing its counterpart of the fruit of life. Shinji stared in shock as he watched the liquid bone crash back onto the angel and the Karcist, quickly enveloping their bodies and subsuming them into the skull. 

“Shinji!” Kaworu yelled as his torso was dragged into the shifting mass. “Run! Another Impact is starting! I can’t stop it!” Then the desperate red eyes disappeared under the rolling waves of ivory. A dreadful silence fell over the cavernous room as the mandible reformed. Then the entire, mountainous skull began to rumble. 

Shinji’s lip quivered as he took a step back from the reanimated remains. The whole structure shook before new tissue erupted across the flawless bone. Fresh growths of bone shot out from the bisected face, filling out the missing half of the skull, weaving massive new structures of ivory. Pink flesh and pale skin flowed like water, surging up the previously dried bone. From deep within the hollow socket, a glob of gelatinous tissue popped into existence, rapidly expanding into a monumental eye. New ligaments and musculature criss-crossed the face, building up the visage as skin enveloped everything. Shinji watched as the newly formed eyelids fluttered open, the lips pulling back to reveal the sharptooth smile of Kasrcist Seryaican. Locks of hair sprouted from the vast scalp and new bones emerged from the severed neck. Unit 01 stumbled, Shinji pulled the controls, quickly regaining his balance, backing further and further into the lake of LCL. The gargantuan skull tipped over backwards as a neck, shoulder and arms burst into existence. The entire cavern shook as new hands the size of hills grabbed onto the walls, pulling the entire mass up. Legs, kilometers in size, planted themselves on the walls of the now cramped chamber. Unit 01 jolted, A gargantuan right hand slammed down to its left, sending a heavy shockwave through the floor. 

With one final heave of its gigantic limbs, the monstrous hybrid finally stood up, its torso disappearing into the darkness above. 

**“THE COMPLETE POWER OF THE DEMIURGE IS WITHIN ME.”** An earthshaking voice boomed from above  **“NOTHING STANDS IN MY WAY, AT LAST, THE LILIN WILL BE FREED.”**

A rumble reverberated through the ground as a bright, circular portal appeared high above, illuminating the Karcist’s upper body. Slowly, the monumental figure rose from the LCL, lifting herself into the glowing gateway.

At any other point in his life, Shinji would have taken Kaworu’s words to heart, and ran. He would have fled as far as he could from the Karcist, letting whatever apocalypse she had started, to transpire. But now, after all he had been through, after all he had seen in this new world, after all of the kindness Kaworu had shown him, the third child was not backing down. Fire flared in Shinji’s heart as he saw the hybrid’s head disappear into the blinding light. She had forced the angel to merge back with Lilith to continue her own schemes. She had taken Kaworu away. The pilot’s hands clenched as a bright halo began manifesting over the horn of Unit 01. The spear rattled from its resting point in the ground as Shinji’s synchronization rate climbed even higher. A powerful AT field swept through the chamber floor, pushing all the LCL into a circular ring along the walls. Unit 01 arched its head back, looked up, and roared. Shaking ever faster, the spear finally leaped from its crevice, jumping into the Eva’s outstretched hands. There was a bang and Unit 01 took off, followed closely by a massive plume of orange ichor. 

The Evangelion shot through the darkness like a rising star, its halo brightly illuminating the space around its body. High above, the pale energies of the portal blazed eerily as Seryaican’s massive form rose through the aperture. Shinji gritted his teeth as the swirling energies drew closer, and closer, until- the pilot squeezed his eyes shut as the Eva blasted through the portal at breakneck speeds. Colors and lights flashed across the outside of his closed eyelids, reminding him of the synchronization sequence. Then, as quickly as it had started, the patterns ended and there was darkness. Shinji’s eyes snapped open to an expansive night sky. Bright points of light littering the dark canvas in front of him, forming a sereen and elegant tapestry. A bright galred entered the entry plug and Shinji lifted the Eva’s hand to block the harsh light. Squinting into the illuminaion, the pilot’s heart skipped a beat when he realized that it was the sun. Moving quickly, he looked down, revealing a wide, curved horizon spreading out below him covered by a thin film of blue. 

He was in space. The portal had lifted him past several kilometers of rock, soil and air, directly into the void. Pulling himself away from the view, Shinji refocused, and turned around to find his target. He was greeted by a massive wall of pale skin. The Karcist’s body had finally grown to its maximum proportions. Taller than any mountain, she had become a single, monumental figure towering over the surface below. Memories of third impact flashed in Shinji’s head as he struggled to even see the entirety of the hybrid being. The anger in his heart flared again as he saw the victorious look plastered over the Karcist’s face. Unit 01 accelerated, shooting up past the torso. His ascent sped up as he approached the head. Eyes the size of lakes stared past him, triumphantly smiling at the planet below. Unit 01 lifted the Spear of Longinus and pointed it up directly at the hybrid’s forehead. The pilot's heart quickened as the field of luminous skin approached. Kaworu was still trapped inside that monstrosity. His thoughts flashed to the encounter with Sachiel, The smile at the end of the hallway, the cradle of his arms. Kaworu had saved Shinji’s life, now it was time for him to do the same. With a guttural, desperate scream, the pilot pierced the gargantuan skull and plunged into the hybrid’s head.

……..

The world stood still. Wind and clouds still blew across the surface of the planet, but Seryaican no longer cared about such tiny matters. She had won. She had won a bigger victory than she had ever imagined. Not only had she acquired the powers of an archon, but now the combined might of both seeds of life, the primordial creators of all living things, rested in her palms. She closed her eyelids, feeling the cosmic energies swirl inside of her. Nothing was beyond her reach now. The planets, stars, even the fabric of time and space itself bent around her. She opened her eyes and stared at the planet below her. An anti-AT field had initially manifested when she had first fused, but she quickly suppressed it when she gained control over the hybrid form. She did not seek to return humanity to its base state, quite the contrary, this was to be the beginning of ascension. Animating the massive body, Seryaican pulled all the energy towards the massively engorged S2 engine. Combining the carnomancy she had practiced for years along with the unlimited, reality bending power of the archons, she would be able to rewrite the body and soul of every human on the planet at a subatomic level, gifting the fruit of life to every single lilin in the blink of an eye. 

Of course, breaking apart her current body in such a massive outburst of power wouldn’t be without its consequences. Even if she survived the ritual, Adam and Lilith would be completely obliterated, along with a large portion of the continent below her. It was a hefty sacrifice, but to finally liberate the lilin from the chains of mortality, sickness, and the misery of a flawed, painful existence, no price was too high. The Karcist clenched her fists and brought her arms up towards her chest as several pairs of massive pale wings erupted from her back. Salvation was at hand. 

…….. 

The sensation of sinking in water filled Shinji’s mind as the light of the sun disappeared from view. New flesh and tissue quickly patched up the wound as the pilot of Unit 01 found itself rapidly subsumed by the blood-less pink tissue. His vision darkened as Shinji felt a powerful force coming over his mind. The third child didn’t fight the new feeling and let his regular sight fade. As his emotions and mind moved from consciousness and into dreams, Shinji held the fire of his promise and love as tightly as he could. 

Shinji’s eyes snapped open. He was back in his cell, or at least, a twisted version of it. He looked down. He was sitting up in his bed, laying ontop of a neatly folded blanket. A bright spotlight shined down from above, casting everything in harsh shadows. There was movement at the foot of his bed and Shinji peered into the darkness. A single figure was seated at the metal desk, a figure with long, unkempt blue hair, wearing a dark azure cloak. Shinji involuntarily shuffled back to his head board as Karcist Seryaican stood up and turned to face him. 

“Ever the nuisance,” She sneered, removing the seven eyed mask from her face. “What was even your purpose in following me?” She stalked to the side of the bed “What did you hope to achieve?” 

The pilot’s lip quivered as the Karcist leaned in, her fangs inches away from his head. Then his eyebrows frowned.

“You know why I’m here.” Shinji said in a shaky, but determined voice. “Give. Me. Kaworu. BACK!!” In a flash Shinji was up, standing on his bed, fist launching towards Seryaican’s face. 

The Karcist only laughed as her body vanished, Shinji’s momentum carrying him over the side of the bed and onto the floor with a crash. 

“Foolish child.” She said, re-appearing next to him. “This isn’t anything like your ‘instrumentality project’. You don’t control this world anymore, I do.” She grabbed Shinji’s collar, yanking him onto his feet as the dark room fell away to reveal a bright white void. 

“Let me take you somewhere, so that I can perhaps make you better understand the gravity of the situation.” Another scene surged up, building itself around them. A dark sea with ice floes rose up beneath him as sparse clouds formed in overhead. Shinji stumbled, feeling himself dropped onto an iceberg bobbing in the waves. The pilot shivered as a biting wind whipped past him. 

“Observe.” The Karcist remarked, not even glancing at him. Shinji picked his head up, squinting into the horizon. For a second there was nothing but the surge of waves. Then a harsh yellow light exploded in the distance. Four massive wings rose out of the gloom, Their joints and segments surging into the sky, piercing through the clouds. A moment later, there was a massive explosion. 

Shinji winced as two huge columns of orange light blasted into the heavens. He slumped down, knees hitting the cold snow. He had only ever heard about the event, second impact and the destruction it had wrought. But now watching it unfold, he understood. Then the screaming hit him. It came not all at once, but in waves. Howling, crying, screeching, the agonized howls of hundreds of souls filled the air. 

“If Lilith’s memories are correct, then this event and it’s fall out would end up killing over half of the population of your planet.” The Karcist commented. “And although the scientists who meddled in these affairs rightly bear the blame, it is a further reminder that the archons are the enemy.” She pointed a finger towards the jets of light, and the approaching tsunami. “That is the work of Adam, the same soul that inhabited the angel known as Tabris. That is what awaits countless other worlds if we let the archons free into the rest of creation.” Shinji began to back away as the first tidal surge approached the iceberg, casting massive shadow over the snowy surface. “But it doesn't have to be this way, let me show you what is possible!” 

Shinji began to gasp as the wall of freezing water washed over him, only to find himself dry and standing in the light of a warm summer’s day. He blinked as he brought a hand over to shade his face. The Karcist stood at the edge of a platform a few feet away. Slowly, Shinji picked himself up and gazed out over the edge. It was Tokyo-3, or at least what he assumed it to be Tokyo-3 from its terrain. The cityscape had been completely changed. In the place of the office buildings, tram lines, and apartment blocks, there stood massive spiral structures, patterned just like the inside of Terminal dogma. Looking up, Shinji could see vast objects in orbit, composed of the same esoteric material. All throughout the city there were figures, some of them walked on rippling roadways, while others seemed to fly, levitating over the ground. 

“This is what could be.” Seryaican announced, sweeping her arm over the scene. “Your world, your city, rebuilt. Its people, freed from the burdens that have so troubled them fro every second of their lives. This is true salvation from the sins of a wretched human condition, not the false promise that SEELE doomed your world for.” 

As Shinji looked over the landscape, he suddenly felt a warmth sprout from inside of his heart, a kind, familiar warmth. A warmth that he had felt before while sitting inside the empty eye socket of a long dead Evangelion. A voice called in his ear, a feminine one, a voice belonging to Rei Ayanami. 

“Your right hand.” 

Shinji looked down and clenched his right hand into a fist before opening it again. His right hand? What was in his right hand? Then he remembered. In the right hand of Unit 01, held as tightly as he could, was the Spear of Longinus. Instantly he felt the weight of the weapon manifest it in his palm. The same warm presence from before returned, moving quickly over his arm, lifting the burden away. 

Shinji turned back to look at the Karcist who was still surveying her vision of utopia. 

“As scions of the fruit of life, the archons do not possess the fruit of knowledge, and thus do not have the capability for change. That is why they are blind and foolish. They only live to carry out whatever purpose they were imbued with, usually the destruction of lilin life and the ushering in of their own world.” She turned to Shinji. “The end stage of that process is always physical contact with a seed of life, and since both Adam and Lilith have fulfilled their purpose, they no longer have any will of their own, all their power rests with me. The final ritual is almost complete, soon the archons will be no more, and the lilin will be reborn into paradise!” The karcist raised her arms as her sermon concluded, looking up into the false sky. Shinji’s hands clenched into fists again as he felt the same warm presence wrap itself around his arm. His soul flared, burning brighter than ever before. The third child pulled his arm back, and punched the Karcist in the face. 

Shinji felt a crack under his knuckles as his hand made contact with the imaginary flesh of Seryaican’s head. She stumbled, her mouth agape with shock and eyes full of confusion. 

“Impossible!” She sputtered. “You...you’re not in control here!” 

“No, I’m not.” Shinji said. “ _ they _ are.” 

“Lilith and Adam?” Seryaican asked. “They have already fulfilled their purpose, there is no possibility that they could reject-” She was cut off as Shinji’s fist slammed into her nose again. 

“That’s not who they are anymore!” Shinji shouted at the dazed Karcist. “They are people! And their names are Rei Ayanami and Kaworu Nagisa!” The third child turned to the sky. “Rei! Kaworu! Please! Let’s go home!!” The entire scene shook and was quickly replaced by a blank white void, which in turn shifted to a view of the outside world. Shinji found himself in “space”, hovering above the head of the immense hybrid being, its face still dipped towards the planet with hands tightly interlocked in front of its chest. Shinji watched as the gigantic figure shifted, its head lifting up and one arm stretching towards the inky black infinity of space. Then a single point of light emerged from the tip of its index finger, warping the space around it, pulling the firmament tighter and tighter together, until- Shinji felt a instantaneous jolt as the dot of energy ruptured, all of the coiled up reality springing back out in a rippling wave. Resting in the place of the point of light, unaffected by gravity and following the rotation of the planet, was a transparent, spherical portal. Shinji’s mouth fell open as he stared through it, seeing an earth with red oceans and a hazy halo of LCL orbiting around. 

“You are still too late to prevent what is coming.” Seryaican pulled herself up and walked over. “I have already finished the steps of the rite, all that is required now is time, and there is not enough of it for you to escape with your ‘beloved’.” She easily blocked Shinji’s next punch and sent him sprawling. “The god-less lance, that you so thoughtfully brought, is useless while you are still locked inside my mind. Even if both Adam and Lilith reject this body, there is nothing that can be done to change the fate that has already been set in motion.” 

Shinji’s fist’s trembled, ready to strike again, then he relaxed. His shoulders dropped as his expression softened. “Maybe I can’t wield the lance.” He said. “ But Kaworu can.” 

The Karcist’s eyes went wide as she understood Shinji’s words. The spear of Longinus, the ancient super weapon of the white moon, had been made to prevent the merging of two seeds of life. That function had been long neglected as the spear had passed from wielder to wielder, each using it for their own agendas. But now that it had finally returned to possession of its rightful owner, its original purpose, could at last, be fulfilled. 

There was movement in the world below him and Shinji looked down to see a bulge forming in the center of the gigantic forehead. With a small burst of ichor, the helical lance tore from the hybrid being and drifted out into space, slowing to a standstill. Then it started to rotate. Slowly at first, but with increasing speed, the weapon unwound itself, fully straightening out until it was nothing but a single ribbon of crimson red. A blinding point of light flashed from the tip of the lance, before it dove back into the head, piercing all the way through, and erupting from the other side. The Karcist cried out, grabbing her head as the entire world dissolved to black. 

Shinji opened his eyes to the dim red light of the entry plug. Peering out he could see an ocean of roiling flesh. He turned. Although he couldn’t see anyone else in the entry plug, he could feel the soul of Rei Ayanami sitting to his left, disembodied in the LCL. And to his right… Shinji’s heart soared as he felt Kaworu’s warm presence reassure him, passing over the pilot’s head in a non physical kiss. There was a sudden loosening of the inward pressure and a streak of light pierced through the pink tissue. Shinji squinted and saw the darkness of space open in front of him. 

“ _ This body is becoming unstable. _ ” He heard Kaworu say in his mind. “ _ The ritual has been disrupted, but the portal will not last much longer either. _ ” Shinji gave a firm nod and throttled the controls. There was a lot of resistance as the pilot pulled Unit 01 from the gigantic hybrid’s braincase. Soft, pink flesh sloughed off in his hands, the body beginning to disintegrate around him. With one final shove, Shinji pushed the left arm clear of the skin, gripping onto the surface of the skull. The portal still hung silently in the sky, just like he had seen inside the Karcist’s mind. His planet, his world, clearly still visible within the distorted space. There was the bang of a coiled AT field, and Unit 01 rocketed into the abyss

Suddenly, a burst of bright flashes illuminated the armor of Unit 01. Whipping his head around, Shinji saw the hybrid’s body reeling from several equally gigantic explosions. As he continued to stare, several more streaks of light slammed into it from overhead, detonating in massive confligrations of strange, multicolored energy that consumed huge chunks of the falling titan. The radio on his head rest crackled to life as it picked up a Foundation wavelength. 

“Target is vulnerable, repeat target is vulnerable! Vaporized as much of the mass as you can before it hits the surface!” 

Another volley of hypersonic projectiles answered the call, atomizing the entire left arm in a blinding blue flare. 

“ **NOOO!** ” The Sarkic’s voice bellowed in his soul “ **I WILL NOT LET YOU LEAVE THIS PLANE!** ” The right arm of the immense body rose up, its palm quickly catching up to Unit 01 and closing around it. Shinji jolted painfully as he felt the Evangelion abruptly stop, its waist and legs caught in the gigantic grip. Shinji desperately pushed, struggling against the monumental fist. Ahead, the portal began to pull away as the hybrid slumped backwards, its spine finally breaking in two. 

“Shinji…” A voice suddenly called in his mind. The pilot blinked. He was no longer in the entry plug, instead standing over an ocean of LCL. He looked up, ahead of him was a brown haired woman in a purple sweater and white lab coat.

“M-mother?” Shinji sputtered. Yui smiled. “Shinji, I wish I had more time, but this is my farewell to you.” 

“No!” Shinji cried. “We’re going home!” 

Yui shook her head. “I cannot come with you back to our world. I will take over control of the Evangelion to help you escape, but Unit 01 and I will have to remain here.” Shinji blinked in disbelief. 

“Wh-what do you mean?!” He shouted, as tears welled up in his eyes. Yui quickly walked over and pulled her son into a warm embrace. 

“The entry plug ejection isn’t powerful enough to carry you to the portal, someone will have to stay behind to throw it.” She gently whispered. 

“I-I…” Shinji sniffled. 

“It's alright.” Yui said. “I never got the chance to explain during instrumentality, but I am so proud of you. Your bravery and dedication...you have grown so much.” She pulled away and gave Shinji a bright smile. “I am sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me, and I am sorry that I left you for a plan that didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. But despite all of that, you made it through.” Shinji looked up and returned her smile.

“I can see how much Kaworu loves you.” Yui said. “I couldn't have asked for someone better to watch over you in this strange, new world.” Shinji suddenly felt the world pulling away. “Go and be free!” Yui waved after him. “Build and live the life you want, make a better world than what I could give you.”

Then he was back in the entry plug. There was a loud hiss as the ejection sequence started. The didn’t stop as he felt the plug push out from the spinal column. The cylinder rattled as the Eva’s right hand closed gently around it. There was pop, signalling that the plug had been fully removed. The muscle in Shinji’s right bicep tightened as Unit 01 pulled its arm back.

_ “Goodbye my son.”  _

_ “ _ Thank you mother.” 

Then, the entire capsule lurched forward, and the mental link went dark. 

Thrusters pulsed as the capsule maintained its trajectory to the target. A physical hand passed over Shinji’s own, and he turned to see Kaworu’s body coalescing from the liquid around him. 

“Activate the external cameras!” He said. Shinji siped the tears from his face and quickly flipped a switch on the handle. The HUD activated, projecting an image of space. The portal was close now, rushing up quickly to meet them. The pilot felt a slight tingle as they shot through. Space bowed and stretched in strange shapes as they re emerged from the other side, their own earth finally within reach.

“We’re reentering the atmosphere.” Shinji turned left to see Rei also re-materializing out of the LCL. A burning sound echoed from the front of the plug as the reentry thrusters fired. The ocean loomed ever larger, the bay that used to be Tokyo 3 filling the entire field of view. Kaworu and Rei turned to each other and nodded. In unison they reached out their hands and closed their eyes. A bright orange glow bloomed on the outside of the cylinder, quickly enveloping the entirety of the entry plug. 

The AT field solidified as the falling capsule broke through the cloud cover. A second later, the barrier plunged into the crimson ocean in a geyser of red. 

  
  


…….. 

Asuka looked up from the white sand in confusion. Just mere seconds ago she had been floating around in the sea of souls, her mind melding together with everyone else, and then, she had woken up here. 

No, there was something else. Shinji had been here too, on the beach with her, hands around her throat. She had reached out and then….she was alone. She blinked. Why did that memory feel like it had been so long ago? The second child was suddenly shaken from her introspection as a bright flash appeared in the sky over the giant collapsing Rei head. Looking through the weird bubble in space that had manifested, she had seen another earth and another pale giant slowly falling apart. Minutes passed as Asuka watched the new spectacle unfold, the enormous body disintegrating as the portal got smaller and smaller. Then it was gone, leaving a single shooting star, falling towards the horizon. The redhead stood as the bright comet-like object streaked towards the ocean, splashing down close to shore in a frothy plume.

An object bobbed up in waves a few moments later and began slowly moving to the shore. Asuka leaned forwards, squinting at it, trying to make out what it was. Her eyes widened as she saw Shinji stand up in the surf, carrying two people slumped over each shoulder. She took a tentative step back as the third child, dressed in a bulky orange and black pluguit, heaved Rei Ayanami and a strange silver haired boy onto the sands next to him. Asuka watched their chests rise and fall as Shinji flopped backwards into the sand as well. 

“It….it’s really over.” He breathed quietly. 

“What? What’s over?!” Asuka shouted. There was another splashing sound and the group turned their heads to see a new figure climb out of the LCL, a tall woman with dark purple hair.

“Instrumentality is ending.” Rei said quietly, without moving her body. “The lilin have earned a second chance.” 

Shinji managed a weak laugh and pulled the silver haired boy into a close embrace, the third child giving him a slight kiss on the forehead as his red eyes fluttered open. Asuka crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow as tears flowed down Shinji’s face. The newcomer quickly stood up and pulled the third child into a tight embrace, the two gave each other exuberant smiles and shared another long kiss as the stars twinkled brightly overhead. 


	26. Neon Genesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes, seasons change, and sometimes, things turn out ok.

_ 5 years later.  _

The sun shined brightly, casting the entire hillside in a bright mid day glow. Researcher Heian took a deep breath as she opened the door of her car and strode towards the front gate. Buzzing in through the security checkpoint, she marveled at the new entrance to the facility. A high ceiling and wide windows, disguising the transparent crystal armor and heavy weaponry embedded above. She smiled, reminiscing at the numerous times she had run the previous atrium during a massive battle. Many things had changed in five years since the averted CK class restructuring event. The Foundation had been unable to maintain the veil of secrecy after such a cataclysm, and the resulting broken masquerade had seriously upset not only the Foundation’s own internal affairs, but society in general. It had been a difficult time for all of them, but in the end, Heian managed to retain her post, and the Foundation was allowed to continue operating with increased public oversight. Passing by the numerous conference rooms and low level containment chambers, Heian traced out a well worn route back to her old station. There was a jittery elevator ride and the researcher found herself standing in front of the familiar double doors. She swiped her card and walked into the renovated overlook. New equipment buzzed around her as she strode up to the front window. Down below, in the wide open hanger, a large purple cyborg rested on its back. 

The foundation was able to pull SCP 6079 out of the ocean during the extensive cleanup operations; however, the lower body of the weapon had been sheared off. The anomaly had remained in a state of low activity for the last few years, slowly regenerating its lost limbs. Recovery wasn’t helped by the massive financial upheavals due to the broken masquerade, but finally, after half a decade, the cyborg was almost fully healed. She sighed and took a sip of coffee. There was a tap on her shoulder and she turned around to see a bright eyed young woman eagerly looking at her.

“Doctor Heian?” She asked.

“Yeah, what’s up?” The researcher turned around. 

“I’m the new liaison for the department of extra-universal affairs, you emailed me a few weeks ago asking me to find, um, a specific alternate reality?” 

Heian nodded. Dr. Varuss Keena had retired several months after the veil had dropped, and the department of extra universal affairs had been left without a liaison at Site 47 for the intervening years. Heian had put in an investigation request as soon as she heard that there had been a new hire. 

“So, I managed to dig really deep through our archives, even got some help from the dimensional mapping office, and I think I have what you're looking for.” She held out a single sheet of paper. Heian took it and glanced over the details. It was a universe that had an earth, that had humans on it, that had recently experienced a large scale K class event as well. Furthermore, the Hume readings that were taken of the planet seemed to match that of past angel activity. 

“Yes...” Heian said reading it over. “ This is exactly what I was looking for!” The young woman’s eyes lit up as the researcher returned her gaze. “Keep up the good work.” The extra universal liaison gave a short salute and quickly ran up the stairs, with a lighter spring in her step. Heian turned back to the windows and immediately felt a heavy hand slap her shoulder.

“So.” Said Captain Brigetson. “What was that all about?” 

“I...I think this is it.” Heian declared to her friend. “The universe that the pilot, Clef, that weapon, and the angels are all from.” 

The Captain nodded. “Wow… that’s...that’s pretty big...” She said in surprise. “After half a decade...What are you planning to do?” 

“Well,” Heian looked at the exposed core of Unit 01, gleaming with a warm red color. “I know that SCP 6079 still has a soul inside of it, the soul of someone who is very important to the pilot.” She turned back to the captain. “I was thinking, maybe, we could return it someday.”

“Releasing an anomaly into the custody of an unknown third party in another universe?” Brigetson lifted an eyebrow under her helmet in suspicion. 

“You know how much things have changed.” Heian reminded her. “The entire ethos of the Foundation has been reworked; they’re releasing more and more non hazardous anomalies back to their friends and families every day.” Heian put her coffee down and leaned against the railing. “I think this is our chance to do something good for that child.” 

Brigetson smiled. “Well, when you put it like that…”

A soft beep interrupted them. 

“Ah, looks like I need to get back to work.” Heian looked at her phone alarm. The guard captain nodded and walked up the stairs. 

“Doctor,” A technician with short hair ran up to Heian as Brigetson stepped out into the hall. 

“We are having some trouble with the left arm blood flow, could you take a look.” Heian smiled as she walked over to the workstation, as much as this was a new beginning, some things never changed. 

……..

“Welcome, O5-12” 

Joreia Tallerin sighed as the computer beeped and opened the door. Even after ten months, she had still not gotten used to the massively increased security that waited around every corner of Site 01. Tallerin thought back to the announcement of her promotion. The chaos in the reorganization, the public relations nightmare. In the turmoil, it had been the ethics committee that had stepped up to handle the outward facing front of the disaster. Meanwhile, the council had had a vote, and with O5-2 leading, O5-1, O5-4, and O5-6 had been removed from their positions in a public display of restructuring. With plenty of seats open, there had been a wld search to fill those positions, and somewhere along the way the director of Site 47 found out that her own name had been selected. In all honesty, She didn’t actually have many concrete memories of the first days, a lot of meetings in dark rooms with unfamiliar faces that she struggled to attach to the computerized voices she had heard for so long. Eventually, she had been assigned as the new O5-12, the previous position holder moving up to a single digit placement. 

Her new duties included, among other things, management of classified contingency plans, and Ethics committee relations. And it was the results of her latter duty that she was going to present. Walking past another security door, Overseer Tallerin nodded at the towering figure of Irantu that was coming through in the other direction. Recovery for Tau 5 had been slow, especially given the circumstances of the veil breaking. There had been many months of medication, nerve regeneration, and subconscious therapy, to eventually remove what the doctors called “psychological contamination”, but finally, all four members of Samsara were declared fit for duty again and were reassigned as security for Site 01. Thoughts ran through the overseers head. Despite how well Samsara seemed to be adjusted to their current employment, Tallerin still felt that there was something off about how the Council had used them in the past. The armored giant gave the overseer a salute and marched off. 

Turning down several more hallways, Tallerin found herself standing in front of the imposing jet black doors of conference room 01, the main meeting chamber for O5’s, the place where the most secret decisions in the entire world were made. Tallerin looked back down at her paper. 

**“A Proposal to Reform the Employment of, and Conduct Towards, Humanoid and Sentient Anomalies”**

The comms system let out a beep, and the locks in the door disengaged. Tallerin took a deep breath, adjusted her tie and pushed aside the heavy blast proof doors.

There was a large circular table in the center of the wide room. Artificial sunlight shined in from above as several other overseers took their seats. The meeting wasn’t entirely full, but there were enough to vote on the proposal. Tallerin sat down in a reclining chair facing the plaque with her designation and gazed at the half-a-dozen younger faces. She recognized the two other new members that had also been brought on as replacements: O5-13 and O5-10. 

The head of the meeting, O5-3 picked up a gavel and gave a loud tap on the table.

“This session of the overseer council is now in session, first order of business, we have a proposal from number twelve.” 

Tallerin nodded as the councillor gestured to her, the other faces all turning to look. She took a deep breath and began. 

Her speech was long, but as Tallerin rattled off the points of contention, outlining the need for reform, all the other overseers seemed to agree. She caught them nodding along as she explained how she had witnessed the issues with humanoid anomalies, and what she believed needed to be done. They even seemed to agree as she mentioned how employment conditions for Tau 5 and detainment procedures were not in line with ethics committee guidelines. The former director didn’t want to prematurely assume, but she hoped that most of the smiles were out of genuine agreement and not simple politeness. The answer came after her speech finished and a vote was called. The ratification was unanimous, and a short round of applause went up. Tallerin smiled to herself as she got up and grabbed a cup of water. She had never seen the council behave like that before. Letting out a yawn, the new overseer glanced back down at her proposal, now ratified into action. Some of the points were quite ambitious, and would take a long time to complete. This was just the first hurdle and there was still plenty of hard work ahead. 

……..

O5-1, formerly O5-2, quietly tapped her feet on the floor of the glass elevator as it descended into the newly rebuilt Site 2000. Much of the old architecture had been demolished by the Karcist’s rampage and rebuilding in an area that was still classified from the public was difficult. O5-1 felt the car slow as it came to stop at the bottom of a much shallower cavern. LCL still surrounded the metal platform in a lake, but the entire volume of the space had decreased. Instead of a mountain sized skull, the only piece of the giant entity that they could recover was an incomplete, left eye socket. The bone had shrunk down to the size of a house when it was finally dug out from its crater. Piercing the ivory surface of the shattered skull fragment, was the full sized spear of the non believer.

O5-1 walked up to the base of the orbit and paced around, seemingly waiting for someone. She caught a blur of dark blue, and instantly turned to get a closer look. Hovering just above the orange ichor was a figure wrapped in a dark cloak, holding a sharpened staff.

“So.” The apparition of Seryaican said quietly. “Have you come here to gloat?”

O5-1 shook her head and slowly sat down on the cold metal floor. “I’m just here to talk.” 

The Karcist’s phantom body tensed, her face twisting up, eyebrows furrowing, before her shoulders suddenly dropped.

“Very well.” She said, “I shall humor you.” Her form vanished and reappeared, sitting cross legged and facing the Overseer. 

“So,” O5-1 said, “How are the accommodations here?” 

Seryaican let out a sneer. “So you really are just here to gloat.” The councillor took out a pen and a small notebook. 

“Think of this as an investigation. We still don’t fully understand the biology or the physics behind that organism,” she pointed the pen at the large bone. “I was hoping that you could enlighten me, and thus, help accelerate our research.” 

The Karcist raised an eyebrow. “A high warden of the Jailors, doing field research?” 

The Overseer closed her eyes. “You said you would humor me.” 

The Karcist narrowed her gaze. “Very well.” She said. “Existence inside the cold and silent corpse of the demiurge is...monotonous, especially when your capabilities have been permanently shackled by that damn spear.” She pointed accusingly at the helical object dug deep into the bone. The overseer nodded and scratched down something on her notepad.

“I...I can feel the reality bending energies, the power contained in this piece of bone alone is enough to turn this whole mountain range into a new ocean.” The Karcist’s eyes flashed a bright crimson as she looked at the Overseer. “That is the capability of the fruit of life.” 

“You’ve talked quite a bit about that ‘fruit’” O5-1 observed. “What is it exactly?” 

“The fruit of life is what you would call an ‘ontokinetic energy source’” Seryaican explained. “It is the thing that grants the archons their immortality, and it is the thing that ensures that I can never die.” The apparition turned its head and surveyed the skull more closely. 

“Long after your Foundation crumbles to dust, long after humanity withers away, long after the last star in the universe winks out, I will still be here, in eternal atonement to my failure.” 

Her head fell and the ghostly image of Seryaican sighed. “We had one chance to avert the fate that was written for us, one opportunity to wipe away the weakness and suffering of our species, and now, We are forever condemned.” She glared at the overseer. “The suffering of humanity, from now until the end of time, will be on your hands.” 

“I’m not so sure about that.” O5-1 turned a page. 

“Of course you wouldn't see it that way.” the Karcist scoffed. “You see hoarding this power as a necessary part in containment, poking and prodding at it, but never daring to really utilize its potential for fear of disrupting ‘normalcy’.” Seryaican’s ghostly body disappeared and rematerialized, standing and turned away from the Overseer. “It’s ironic,” She lamented, “A warden that cannot see beyond the prison. A jailor that unknowingly chains those they have sworn to protect.” 

O5-1 closed her notebook and stood up. “You misunderstand,” she said. “I think the world outside has changed more than you anticipated, your prediction isn’t in line with the evidence. Anomalies are becoming public knowledge, The Foundation’s mission has been revised, and even the Overseer Council has seen a shakeup.”

Seryaican’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you telling me this…?” 

“Because,” The Overseer said. “I’m not sure what to make of this new world and I don’t think you know what to make of it either. I wasn't lying when I said I came to talk.”

Seryaican put her hand up to her chin. “So you think that my defeat wasn’t as complete as I made it out to be?” 

“I’m saying that ‘winning and losing’ may not be accurate ways of thinking about the world anymore.” O5-1 said. “We make choices, and have to deal with those consequences that follow. But having an outcome that you didn’t foresee, that result may not be as permanent as you initially make it out to be.” She walked closer to the apparition. “No one could have predicted that finding SCP 6079 would lead to a K class scenario and I don’t think either of us could say that this chain of events resulted in a ‘victory’. There might have been several times during those months where we were able to defeat an angel, or you were able to raid a site, but looking back on it, did anyone really win in the end? Humanity may still be flawed mortals today, but give it another century or two, maybe the tides of history will have changed.”

Seryaican’s image turned around, looking at the Overseer with a quizzical expression. “Humanity, the lilin, are indeed capable of great change.” She pondered. “Perhaps I overestimated the rigidity of things…” Her eyes suddenly lit up with understanding. “I see,” She said. “Just like the archons had numerous prophecies and designs laid out about them in their native universe, when those plans unraveled, circumstances caused them to be reborn in this world. Even now, after all of their defeats, they are not truly dead, their souls have returned to this shard of bone as well, fourteen of them, dormant in this body. Perhaps, the course of fate is like that as well, ebbing and flowing, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. But never stopping, there is always the possibility that things from the past may return.” She stroked her chin thoughtfully.

The Overseer shook her head. “Like I said, I don’t know exactly what to make of this world.” Seryaican was silent. “However,” the Overseer continued. “What I do know, is that the two of us don’t quite have the same grip on fate that we used to.”

The Karcist responded, giving a harsh laugh. “I think one of us fell quite a bit farther than the other.” 

  
“Yes, but it is becoming readily apparent that the era in which we puppeted the world from the shadows is coming to a close, and that…that scares me.” O5-1 said. 

Seryaican’s projection shrugged her shoulders. “Well, repeating your earlier ramblings, I would say that this outcome is not a defeat. It is a consequence of the choices you made, and that with more time, and more choices, that outcome may further change. There may be more than one route that leads to a world that is protected from anomalies. Perhaps some of those paths will be completely different from what you envisioned, perhaps some of those paths do not involve your Foundation at all.” 

“Likewise, I could say that there are many routes towards uplifting humanity from our current biological state.” O5-1 observed. “Some of which, you may not have imagined either.” 

The two stared at each other in silence for a long time. Finally O5-1 broke the quiet.

“Either way, I don’t think those choices belong to us anymore.”

Seryaican nodded and turned away. “Yes, I suppose so.” The overseer closed her eyes and nodded in satisfaction, turning towards the elevator. 

She momentarily paused as she heard the Karcist say one final thing. 

“That choice belongs to those who have a world to build.” 

  
  


……..

Shinji carefully lifted the pan and plated dinner. Coming home from classes earlier than Kaworu meant that he was the one to usually make dinner. Shinji didn’t mind, he had made dinner for 3 while living with Misato; and Kaworu wasn’t very picky. Putting the pan into the sink, Shinji walked to the porch, and pushed open the door. A warm summer breeze hit his face as Shinji stepped out onto the balcony. 

The rebuilding of Tokyo 3 had been a long process. The city had to be moved from its previous location with everything being remade from scratch. Even now it was still incomplete, with new towers and buildings going up across the expanding districts. The first few months after he had returned were the hardest. The chaos of billions reemerging from the LCL, the rebuilding of society, the political and economic upheaval; however, knowing that Kaworu was by his side, Shinji was never afraid like he used to be. Besides, he had been though far worse and made it out alive. Shinji closed his eyes and inhaled a lungful of fresh air. Kaworu would be home soon, and he wanted to be there to greet his boyfriend. 

Sure enough, a few minutes later, he heard a faint whirring sound, and a tall silver haired figure rose up over the balcony, levitating on a faint orange glow. Shinji smiled and gave Kaworu a big hug as he stepped back onto solid ground.

“Welcome home!” Shinji said. 

“I’m sorry that my work went later than usual.” The angel said. 

“It’s alright.” Shinji nodded. After a year after the end of instrumentality, there had been a huge wave of inquiries and hearings regarding NERV, SEELE, and the events of third impact. Secrets were revealed, documents were divulged, and eventually all of the highly guarded knowledge had been made public. Kaworu had taken a job at one of the new research laboratories that had opened up right in the new Tokyo 3 downtown. It was a place that many former NERV personnel had gone to, and Kaworu’s knowledge and angelic physiology made him a perfect member of the team. Shinji wasn’t always aware of the exact specifics of the project his boyfriend was working on, but he was very familiar with their results. New medicines, innovative therapies, cures for dozens of diseases, and ways of improving the human body that would have been considered impossible just a few decades ago. The progress that was being made seemed unreal. Shinji gave another smile and gestured inside. “Dinner’s ready.” He said, opening the door. 

The atmosphere over the meal was warm and comfortable, the two sharing plenty of smiles and laughs. As dinner wound down, the pair moved their conversation to the couch, cozying up next to each other as a movie played on their TV. Eventually the night wore long, the movie ended, and the two went to bed, snuggling next to each other and turning off the lights. 

It was around 5 am that Shinji awoke to find Kaworu sitting on the balcony, staring at the predawn sky. The former Eva pilot opened the door and slipped out onto the porch, tapping on the glass to alert the angel of his presence. 

“Hey,” Shinji said as he sat down next to his boyfriend. “Is everything alright?” 

The angel gave his companion a warm smile and nodded. “Yes, everything is fine, I guess I’m just a little bit nervous.” 

Shinji’s eyes opened wide, that wasn’t something Kaworu would usually say. The angel saw the look and let out a small giggle. “I guess I’m still acclimating to this body, being formed from LCL means that this form has more lilin features than I’m used to.” 

Shinji pulled Kaworu into a tight hug. “Do you want to talk about what’s on your mind?” 

The silver haired angel nodded. “It’s concerning the next project we’ve been working on at the lab, It’s going to be announced tomorrow.” 

“Oh? What is it?” Shinji asked. 

Kaworu’s eyes lit up. “We finally discovered a way to create a miniaturized S2 engine.” 

Shinji blinked a few times in surprise. “Wow…” He breathed. “That...that’s amazing!” 

Kaworu nodded eagerly. “Then, what’s wrong?” Shinji asked, “Is it dangerous? Like when NERV did that experiment in the US?” 

Kaworu closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, there is virtually no probability in creating a Dirac sea event, the new design is based on the one in here.” He tapped on his own chest. “It's safe to produce, small enough to be portable, and very stable while running.”

“So what are you so worried about?” Shinji draped his blanket over Kaworu.

The angel took a deep breath. “I’m just looking to the future.” He explained. “After this...Everything is going to be different. The technology we use, how energy is generated, with time, even what it means to be human.” Shinji nodded as he gave Kaworu a light kiss on the cheek. 

“It’s just like you said, the two of us have changed fate before, we’ll get through this together.” Kaworu turned to Shinji and smiled. “Besides,” Shinji said, poking his boyfriend. “You have an S2 engine, and you’re plenty human. ” 

Kaworu gave a bright laugh. “You’re right Shinji, thank you, for everything.” The former pilot’s face blushed. 

“I love you Kaworu.” He said quietly, before the angel pulled him into a long kiss. Shinji relaxed and let his boyfriend’s warmth spread across his body. The two continued the embrace as the sun rose over a new world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end. Thank you so much for reading! This is officially the longest thing I have ever written and I am exhausted. A review/comment would be very welcome, let me know what you thought of my work, what parts you liked, what parts could have been better. This crossover has been jumbling around in my brain for sometime now, almost half a year, and I finally decided to get it down. 
> 
> I did borrow some elements of the rebuild movies (even though the fic takes place after EoE), the most notable of which is Shinji waking up in a strange world with only Kaworu there to guide him. I chose Sarkicism to be one of the main forces, despite many other SCP's with Abrahamic religious imagery, because I wanted to come at the Eva universe from a Gnostic angle, focusing on themes of hidden knowledge, ascension, and a flawed creation/creator, projecting that onto Lilith and Adam. As for the elephant in the room, that everyone is Rei, that idea came out of thinking about SCP 2000, realizing that it was a huge underground facility that cloned people to repopulate the planet, and that "hey Rei is also a clone...". I also featured Tau 5 Samsara because their backstory on the wiki is basically them being human sized Evangelions, and I felt like the Foundation needed some heavier firepower against the angels than just regular soldiers. 
> 
> I will probably be writing more Eva fics in the future, as well as editing this one for plot holes, grammar errors, etc. Once again, thank you so much for reading and have a great day!


End file.
